In 2012, I wrote an article in The Healthy Planet that received much attention after its publication. It was titled Dental Ozone: Simple, Safe and Effective. It explained many of the positive effects that ozone therapy could provide for our dental patients today.
Recently, I received more scientific literature that continues to support the impressive usage of dental ozone. This literature includes treatments in cavity reductions of enamel and root surfaces of the teeth. Scientific articles always add more credibility to the results seen in practice. So if you’re a science buff and you like to see scientific reviews, I’ve collected the following references for you.
Clinical Reversal Of Root Caries (Cavities) Using Ozone, Double Blind, Randomized, Controlled 18 Month Trial, Holmes J. (Berkshire, UK), Gerodontology, Volume 20, Issue 2, pages 106–114, December 2003. Conclusions: Leathery non-cavitated (i.e. without empty spaces) primary root caries can be arrested non-operatively with ozone and rematerializing products, i.e., MI Paste. This treatment regime seems to be an effective alternative to conventional “drilling and filling.”
Effect Of Ozone On The Oral Microbiota And Clinical Severity Of Primary Root Caries, Baysan A., Lynch E. (London, England), Am J Dent. 2004 Feb;17(1):56-60. Conclusions: Ozone application either for 10 or 20 seconds dramatically reduced most of the micro-organisms and decay in primary root carious lesions without any side effects recorded at recall intervals. It is suggested that this simple and non-invasive technique may benefit many patients with root caries throughout the world since this approach to treat root caries can easily be employed in primary care clinics and in the domiciliary treatment of home-bound elderly people and immobile patients in hospices and hospitals.
Treating Open Carious Lesions In Anxious Children With Ozone. A Prospective Controlled Clinical Study, Dahnhardt JE, Jaeggi T, Lussi A. (University of Bern, Switzerland), Am J Dent. 2006 Oct; 19(5):267-70. Conclusions: 94% of the children were treatable and 93% lost their dental anxiety. The hardness values of the enamel improved significantly in the ozone-treated test lesions after 4, 6, and 8 months of clinical evaluations.
Personally, I’ve been using dental ozone in my practice since June 2012. I’m amazed at its effectiveness for treating dental restorations, gum disease, and sinus infections. It also promotes wound healing after tooth extractions and helps to reduce tooth hypersensitivity with just one treatment.
After learning what dental ozone can do for root caries, I feel compelled to offer this non-invasive service (no drilling or fillings) for our patients where conditions are applicable for this therapy. It’s safe, simple, and effective.
Ozone therapy has successfully been used in the medical field for treatment of a variety of diseases for more than 100 years. The versatility of ozone therapy, its unique properties, non-invasive nature, and absence of side effects and adverse reactions were responsible for its widespread use. This is why it’s exciting to observe the therapeutic potential that dental ozone offers dentistry and hopefully its continued clinical applications for the future.
With Switzerland, Germany and the U.K. leading the way on ozone research, we can only hope that the U.S. will begin to aggressively pursue the remarkable effects that ozone therapy can provide for our entire health community.
