Holistic dentist, colleague and friend, Dr David Cowhig joins me to discuss holistic dentistry and his model called Oral FITNESS. Oral health is integral to our general health, yet something that is often forgotten about or neglected. Through his model, David explains the impact of oral health and the approach of a holistic dentist.

Selected Links from the Episode

Dr David Cowhig website

Unstress episode with Dr Lewis Ehrlich on oral health

Unstress episode with Dr Steven Lin on the Dental Diet

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Dr Ron Ehrlich:                    Hello and welcome to Unstress. I'm Dr Ron Ehrlich. It's time for another dental checkup and this week my guest is holistic dentist, colleague and friend, Dr David Cowhig, originally from the UK, but for the last 20 years or so, residing in Brisbane, Australia.

David has a great acronym to explain what holistic dentistry is all about and some of the things to consider when it comes to your oral health. David calls it Oral FITNESS, F-I-T-N-E-S-S. I'll let him explain it.

When I first heard this, I loved it. I thought it was terrific. I wanted to share it with you and as I said, I'm going to let him explain what oral fitness stands for. I hope you enjoy this conversation I had with Dr David Cowhig.

Download the PDF transcription

Welcome to the show, David.

Dr David Cowhig:               Hello Ron. Good to be on the show.

Dr Ron Ehrlich:                    Thanks, David. David, you are a holistic dentist just like me. I'm just interested today because it wasn't part of our training. Firstly, how do you describe a holistic dentist and how did you get there?

Dr David Cowhig:               I think a holistic dentist accepts the fact that the health of your mouth has an impact on the health of the body and vice versa. There's a link between a lot of chronic diseases and dental health. As holistic dentists, we take it very seriously. We try to create a safer, healthy, beautiful smile. For about 20 years I've been a holistic dentist. It's been a journey of continual learning and it continues to be a journey of learning, which is the most exciting thing about this aspect of dentistry.

Dr Ron Ehrlich:                    You've been in practice now for how long?

Dr David Cowhig:               This December is my 30th year of being a dentist.

Dr Ron Ehrlich:                    So the first 10 years were... Listen, we both know and maybe not everybody does, but it's pretty intense being a dentist and very focused in the mouth, and very finicky kind of work. It's pretty easy to get lost in that and forget, isn't it, that those things are much bigger than what we see. What was the change for you?

Dr David Cowhig:               I was working in England and I had the opportunity to work in one of the holistic dentists in a small town called [Crowbra 00:02:41] in the top of the South Downs. That opened my eyes to the nutritional aspect that was incorporating when an amalgam was being removed, for example.

Dr David Cowhig:               It was just at the time I was leaving England to move to Australia with my wife and young son. I was able to do a fellowship in nutritional and environmental medicine with ACNEM within the first year of arriving here.

Dr David Cowhig:               I was also buying a practice at the same time and I decided I'd start, from day one, incorporating these aspects into the way that I treated patients and I've gone from there. Every year there's something new to learn, whether it be epigenetics, airways, sleep or a whole range of things that are all incorporated in what we do.

Dr Ron Ehrlich:                    Yeah. The more you learn, the more you realize you don't know. Although there's a certain comfort in thinking that you know everything.

Dr David Cowhig:               Yes. Look, I wouldn't say-

Dr Ron Ehrlich:                    Not that you do. I'm not saying you do.