When Authority Shifts

This week I received a newsletter I subscribe to from Dr. Mark Burhenne at Ask the Dentist, and it made me pause. He shared that he is rethinking his support for oil pulling, and at first I had a bit of an ah-ha moment, but when I really sat with it, I realized it was something else entirely. Oil pulling is something he has recommended for years, just as so many others have, both within professional spaces and in everyday conversations in holistic health, and over time it became one of those practices people stopped questioning. It simply became something you did if you cared about your health.

I want to be very clear here about what I am saying, because this matters to me. I have never stood behind the practice of oil pulling as a foundational approach, even while it was widely accepted and encouraged by both laypeople and authorities alike. Something being popular or long-standing has never been enough for me to trust it without looking at what I was actually seeing happen in the body as a result of it.

Over the past 32 years working as a dental hygienist, I have had the opportunity to observe patterns across many different populations, including patients who came from cultures where oil pulling was a consistent part of their daily routine, and what I consistently saw was not what many would expect. Rather than a balanced oral environment, I was often seeing more periodontal involvement, heavier tartar accumulation, and a kind of thickness to the oral terrain that did not feel like a system moving with ease, but one that felt slowed down and burdened.

And I do want to acknowledge where this came from, because oil pulling did not come out of nowhere, nor is it something that just showed up through social media or modern wellness trends. It has been practiced for centuries and has even been widely accepted within holistic and biological dental circles, becoming a familiar and trusted staple in natural health practices and home remedies. Over time it has been repeated often enough, and by enough voices, that it started to feel like truth. But something feeling true and something being aligned are not always the same, especially when we are living in a completely different environment than the one those practices were created in. We are dealing with EMFs, environmental toxins, processed foods, disrupted sleep, artificial lighting, and constant inputs that influence how the body regulates itself. Ancient cultures were not navigating that same terrain, and when we take something from that time and place it directly into our current environment without questioning it, we have to be willing to see that it may not land the same way in the body.

In the Ask the Dentist newsletter, coconut oil is now being questioned for being too antimicrobial, and in its place there is a more refined option, an MCT oil blend, along with additional nutrients like CoQ10 and vitamin D3 with K2. And while that may sound like progress, what stands out to me is that the approach itself has not changed. Whether it is coconut oil or MCT oil, the focus is still on influencing the biofilm from the outside, and now there is a system of products meant to support the body in that same way, rather than asking the body what it actually needs to come back into balance. So for me, this is not about one oil being better than another, or even a lack of nutrients. It is about recognizing the pattern of trying to adjust the body externally, and in many ways forcing a version of balance, instead of understanding why the body is creating the environment in the first place, because the body does not work that way.

A lot of people trusted the original recommendation because it came from a doctor, a dentist, and I understand that, because we are conditioned to see credentials as certainty. But a degree means someone was trained to learn, retain, and apply information within a specific framework, and it does not mean they were taught to question that framework or that their perspective will not evolve over time. I think the last five or six years have taught many of us something about what it means to trust information and degreed opinions. Critical thinking can come later, but it is not guaranteed.

Some people are wired differently, naturally inclined to observe, to question, to notice patterns that do not quite fit, and to follow that thread even when it does not align with what others expect. That has always been me. I once considered becoming a dentist, and while time and finances played a role in that not happening, I have come to see that it allowed me to remain in a position where I could observe more freely, without being confined to one way of thinking, and where I could develop a deeper understanding of what I was actually seeing in people. It allowed me to stay connected to the individual instead of the perceived philosophy or the latest trend, and to trust what I was seeing even when it didn’t match what I was taught or being told.

There is another layer here that is worth paying attention to, because Dr. Mark Burhenne is also behind a nano-hydroxyapatite product line, including a toothpaste and a varnish being used in offices as an alternative to fluoride. That direction is gaining a lot of traction right now, with many people turning to nano-hydroxyapatite as the next “better” solution. I will also say here, as part of my own alignment and what I have come to understand through years of observation, that I do not support the use of nano-hydroxyapatite or hydroxyapatite in general as a long-term approach. And when I look at this alongside the current shift in the oil pulling conversation, it becomes hard to ignore the pattern. A long-standing recommendation is now being reconsidered, yet at the same time another solution is being positioned with certainty. So it feels fair to pause and ask what else might be revisited over time, not from a place of fear, but from a place of awareness.

We can swap ingredients, upgrade products, and refine methods, but if the approach is still focused on managing the body from the outside, we stay in a loop of trying new things without ever addressing what is underneath, the root cause. It becomes a pattern of moving from one solution to the next, often driven by what is being promoted as the latest answer, whether that is a new ingredient, a new oil, or a new superfood. That is not health. That is marketing. The body is not asking to be managed in that way. It is asking to be supported.

This is where the conversation begins to shift, especially as we look at the additional products being introduced alongside this new oil pulling approach, because when we talk about support, nutrients like vitamin D, K2, and CoQ10 are often presented as something we are lacking and need to add back in. But they do not operate on their own. They are part of a system that is deeply connected to light, rhythm, mitochondrial function, and redox balance, and somewhere along the way we lost that connection.

Vitamin D is not simply something to supplement, it is a reflection of your relationship with light and your circadian rhythm, shaped by sun exposure, timing, and the way your body interacts with its environment. K2 helps guide minerals, but it is derived from nutrient-dense, living foods and only functions properly when the body is able to organize and utilize those minerals through healthy digestion and signaling. CoQ10 supports mitochondrial energy, but it is also influenced by the body’s ability to create and maintain energy through light exposure, metabolic flexibility, and overall cellular health.

When we separate these nutrients from the conditions that allow them to work, and instead package them as solutions on their own, taken as supplements rather than supported through food, light, and lifestyle, we begin chasing pieces instead of restoring the system.

Teeth, the microbiome, saliva, and mineralization are all part of a living, responsive system. They are influenced by light, water, minerals, redox balance, and cellular communication, and when those signals are disrupted, the mouth reflects it. This is why trying to manage the microbiome with oil, whether coconut or MCT, does not create true balance, because balance is not created at the surface. It is created through the internal environment the microbiome is responding to.

When I look at these products, and others like them, I am not only considering what they are designed to do, but also how they are being presented, because they are often supported by credentials, testimonials, social media reels, and shared experiences that can make them feel very convincing. But not everything you see is true or proof of efficacy, and even if something worked for someone else, that does not mean it is right for you. You are not that person. Your body has its own story, its own needs, and its own signals. So the question is not whether it worked for them, but whether it is aligned with what your body needs right now to support balance and healing.

The work I do with clients, whether one-on-one or through the resources I create, is not about building complicated routines or stacking products. It is about simplifying, understanding what your body is asking for, and supporting its true needs for mineral balance, redox, rhythm, and cellular health in a way that allows it to do what it already knows how to do, create balance and heal. In a one-on-one setting, that looks like individualized support and guidance based on your unique patterns and history, but I also know not everyone is in a place for that level of care, which is why I have made these teachings available in a way you can move through on your own.

The Heal Teeth Naturally: Rooted Replenishment Guide has been available as a standalone resource, and it also continues to be offered as part of a bundle alongside The Ultimate pH Guide and The Horary Clock Guide, for those who want a more complete framework to support their understanding. It is not about what to add next. It is about restoring what allows everything else to work.

When someone changes their stance, it does not mean they were wrong, but it does remind us that things evolve, and that is why it matters to stay connected to your own awareness, your own intuition, and your own ability to question what is being presented to you. Not everything that is shared, promoted, or widely accepted is aligned for you, and part of this journey is learning to see through the noise and come back to what feels true within your own body.

Healing does not come from chasing better products or the next solution. It comes from creating the conditions that allow your body to function the way it was designed to, and trusting that it already holds that wisdom. And if at any point you feel unsure or need support in finding your way back to that, I am here to guide you, to help you see what may be difficult to see on your own, and to walk alongside you as you reconnect with your own path forward.