In Episode 46 of The Holistic Nutritionists Podcast, Natalie Douglas, Kate Callaghan, and their guest Dr. Lewis Ehrlich, (Holistic Dentist) discuss a holistic approach to dentistry and how to practice holistic dental health.

• The difference between a conventional dentist and a holistic dentist
• Visiting the dentist- when and why
• Dentists role in sleep quality
• Mouth breathing and the influence on sleep quality and overall health
• Strategies to address mouth breathing and improve sleep quality
• Oral health & hormonal health link
• Mercury fillings & getting them removed
• Flossing, oil pulling, tongue scraping and charcoal teeth whitening- whats fact and whats fiction
• Apple Cider Vinegar and your teeth
• Foods for optimal oral health
• Choosing the right toothbrush and toothpaste
• Lewis’s morning routine and favourite daily health habits

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Holistic Dentist
https://www.doctorlewis.com.au/

Intro 0:00
Welcome to The Holistic Nutritionists Podcast, where you’ll find the inspiration and answers to how you can become the healthiest, happiest version of you, using whole food nutrition, smart supplementation, movement, and lifestyle hacks. Your host, Natalie Bourke and Kate Callaghan, a degree-qualified Dietitians and Nutritionists, certified fitness instructors, speakers, and authors, with extensive knowledge and clinical experience in the wellness industry. So sit back and enjoy the show.

Natalie K. Douglas 0:38
Hi, everyone, and welcome back to Episode 46 of The Holistic Nutritionists Podcast. Today, I’m lucky enough to be joined by Dr. Lewis Ehrlich. Before I read Lewis’s bio, I’d like to preface this by saying Lewis was the first dentist I went to that didn’t scare the shit out of me, and who really took the time to go into detail about the connection between oral health and overall health. He particularly wrote me in when he started talking about sleep quality and oral health, which we’ll chat about shortly as well. So, if you’re a chronic dental pansy like I was, or you just avoid it because you’re not in pain, then I hope that this episode convinces you to change your mind. So, moving on, Lewis is a holistic dentist at Sydney Holistic Dental Centre with a background in professional soccer and his passion for holistic health. Lewis focuses on the link between oral health and general overall health. His mission is to educate people to take control of their own health and prevent oral health disease and in turn overall health diseases. Before studying dentistry, he completed a Bachelor of Science at Northeastern University in Boston after receiving a soccer scholarship where he played for two years. He then moved to Iceland, where he played professional soccer. Lewis’s passion about the many links between oral and general health. He is a qualified fitness instructor and has graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York with a qualification in holistic health coaching. He is also a member of the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain, and the American Academy of Cosmetic Orthodontics. Jeez, Lewis, how do you even have time to brush your teeth with all that?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 2:27
Still find time Nat. Still find time.

Natalie K. Douglas 2:29
And floss Lewis, and floss?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 2:31
Oh, yeah, always.

Natalie K. Douglas 2:32
Excellent. Before we get started, I do have one very important question from that very impressive bio. What position did you play in soccer?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 2:42
I played striker. So, I tried to score a goal, it didn’t always happen. But yeah, either striker or on the wing. So, I was a fast runner, so they used to put me out wide so I could run as fast as I could.

Natalie K. Douglas 2:57
I like it. Actually, that’s exactly the positions I used to play but more so striker. I, I just, I wasn’t very good at defending because I knocked people over too much.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 3:07
You and me both. I’m a terrible defender.

Natalie K. Douglas 3:10
Yeah. And I know. Just never, it’s never happened for me in sport. I played netball as well and also terrible at defense, could also be because I’m a size of a 12-year-old but.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 3:20
I think you just like the glory, Nat.

Natalie K. Douglas 3:22
Yeah, that could be part of it. I’m not gonna lie. Alright, so one more question before we continue into all things dental, what did you have for breakfast this morning?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 3:33
Nat, to be honest, nothing. And the reason being is that currently, I am doing this 16-hour fasting, 8-hours eating situation.

Natalie K. Douglas
Nice.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
And the reason for that is that I want to explore this idea of hunger, something that we don’t really do much of in society. And I think if you have a have a look back into history, and even like this day and age with all the all the publicity around, you know, what our ancestors used to eat, there’s a lot of information out there about what we should be eating, but not how they used to eat. And I’m pretty sure they got hungry every now and again and didn’t have this abundance of food.

Natalie K. Douglas 4:16
What are you talking about? I thought they sat around and ate every three hours?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 4:21
And you know, I’m actually finding that my mental clarity is really good. I’ve realized that I actually just ate for the sake of eating and energy levels are great, feeling good. But also, from a dental health standpoint, which is what we’re here to talk about. The decreased frequency of males actually decreases your chance of dental decay, which is a win.

Natalie K. Douglas 4:45
Hmm, interesting. So what did you break your fast with then this morning?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 4:50
I had a chicken salad, essentially. Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas 4:56
Oh, nice. I like it. So are you more of a savory breakfast person or a break fast person?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 5:04
Yes, very much. I, yes, sweet stuff makes me feel a little funny. If it’s the first thing that I eat. There’s definitely room for some sweet stuff every now and again. But yeah, not not first thing in the morning or first meal.

Natalie K. Douglas 5:16
All right, I like it. Good start to the podcast. So now, I want to move on to obviously more things dental. And I have quite a lot of questions for you today because we’ve never had a holistic dentist or dentist at all on the podcast before. And we also, to be honest, haven’t spoken about it a lot. So it’s really good to have you on. But first of all, what is a holistic dentist as opposed to a conventional dentist?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 5:47
So, I mean, the the main differentiation is that I guess, in sort of a quick brief summary is that we obviously are focused on the teeth and gums but we’re also focused on the person connected to the teeth and gums. And I think, generally speaking as a profession, we can get a little bit one track-minded and only focus on how healthy the teeth are, or how healthy the gums are. But if you only focus on that you miss out on a range of ways that you can actually improve health outcomes of patients. So, as a holistic dentist, we obviously do routine dental procedures like anybody else, that that’s a dentist, but what we do is we try and educate our patients about the many links between oral health and general health. We look at breathing dysfunction, we treat headaches, neck aches, toothaches, we’re looking for sleep apnea, sleep-disordered breathing conditions, and treating those. And then obviously, a nutritional component as well because at the end of the day, I think there’s too much focus on curing dental problems, rather than actually educating people on how to take control of their overall dental health but general health in, in, in all. So, yeah, that’s basically how I would summarize it.

Natalie K. Douglas 7:10
Okay, I like it. So you kind of mentioned there at the end that you are trying to focus on prevention. So I guess, it’s interesting to me because I was definitely someone who didn’t go to the dentist until I felt pain. And I know that we’ve had many conversations before about that probably not being the best indicator. So, how often should people go to the dentist? And like, why is it a real issue that people wait until they actually experienced pain before they schedule an appointment?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 7:43
So, there’s this kind of idea within the community that pain is the only time that something, you know, an indicator that something’s wrong, but about 95% of oral diseases, and that includes tooth decay, gum disease, oral cancer, which is actually on the rise, and one of the most common cancers in the world now. Actually, it doesn’t present with any pain whatsoever. And I’ll give you an example. We had a patient in the other week who was concerned about a brown spot on his canine, so the vampire tooth.

Natalie K. Douglas
Oh, yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
And looking around his mouth, we actually saw teeth that were actually rotted down to the gum line. So he had no crown of his tooth, nothing above the gum.

Natalie K. Douglas
Wow.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
And he didn’t have any pain whatsoever associated with that. He was purely focused on the brown spot on his canine. So that’s just an example of like, even in the case of nerve obliteration, where the tooth is completely rotted away. It doesn’t necessarily cause pain. So, being proactive rather than reactive is the best thing that you can do for your oral health because, at the end of the day, a lot of the really important things start in the mouth. You know, we eat, we drink, breathing is affected by what’s going on in your mouth, sleeping is affected by what’s going on in your mouth. And so, in order to be the healthiest version of yourself, you actually need to be proactive rather than reactive. So, pain is not a great indicator, and like if you went to your cardiologist, not that I, not that I.

Natalie K. Douglas 9:28
Have a regular cardiologist.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 9:31
But you know, if you were if you went for example to a cardiologist and they said, oh, you’re not in pain, come back when you’re in pain. You think, well, this guy’s got no idea what he’s doing.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
So, pain is a pretty ordinary indicator of oral health.

Natalie K. Douglas 9:45
Okay, so in saying that, how often is often enough to be saying a dentist to make sure that nothing, I guess, is going on that’s going to negatively impact your health?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 9:58
Yeah, I think like once every six months is really important to at least have a clean. And depending on your decay rate. You know, if you’ve got a whole bunch of holes or your diet it’s pretty ordinary, probably getting a check out once every six months, as well as to clean. But if you’ve got no fillings, no issues, no history of decay, then probably once every 12 months for a checkup. But we tend to be a creature of habit, will brush the same way over and over and over again. And that includes myself. And so, when you leave a spot untouched or unclean for six months, that can promote localized inflammation in the mouth, which is not good for your systemic health.

Natalie K. Douglas 10:38
Yeah, and I guess putting that into context, can you imagine how like disgusted we would be if we didn’t wash a certain part of our body for like six months? So, it’s an interesting point, I kind of never thought of it like that. And then I think it was the other day, I was on the way home from the dentist and I thought about that and I thought oh, that’s actually really disgusting.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 10:57
Yeah, well, I mean, look, if you’re getting any, like bleeding, bleeding gums, or bleeding when you’re brushing, you know, that’s a classic sign of this chronic inflammation in your body and that leads to susceptible to systemic diseases as I previously mentioned. But you know, I always say to my patients, like if you, if every time you wash your hands, your palms started to bleed you’d be in a state of panic, you’d rush to the hospital.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
But you know, people turn a blind eye when it comes to their oral health and just think oh, it’ll go away on its own. But in reality, that’s a classic sign that you probably need to go and have your teeth clean, and the surface area of your palm is the equivalent of the surface area of your gums. So if you had a what, you know, a welting lesion, you know, red bleeding part of your tongue, you’d be panicking. So we should be treating, you know, quite seriously.

Natalie K. Douglas 11:51
Yeah, I agree. And hopefully, no one’s eating right now with that description.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 11:57
It’s pretty gross.

Natalie K. Douglas 11:58
But, no, it’s it’s good to point out these things because I think a lot of us are so far removed from oral health because it’s not something that a lot of us put a lot of time and thought into. So, it’s good to kind of give analogies or other contexts that people can actually make the, connect the dots with. Now, something else that you mentioned that really I find incredibly interesting. And as I mentioned in the intro it was one of the things that I thought was really interesting when I came to see you for my first consultation, was the role that a dentist plays in assessing someone’s sleep quality. So can you expand on that? What role do you actually play in that?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 12:38
Yeah, so a lot of people don’t realize this aspect of dental health, which is, again, sort of thinking more holistically, but the shape of your upper and lower jaws actually dictates the shape and size of your upper airway. So, a lot of people see crowded teeth, a lot of people don’t have room for their wisdom teeth, a lot of people will have teeth removed for orthodontic reasons. And you know, if you’ve got a crowded upper and lower jaw, you’ll have a restricted upper airway. And if you’re breathing poorly, you leave yourself more susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections, you leave yourself more susceptible to sleep apnea. And at the end of the day, you know, sleep is pretty important. And we slept for a third of our lives. And if you’re not breathing well, day in day out for, you know, in an average lifetime we slept for about 25 years. That’s going to affect your immune system and your ability to be resilient. And so the shape and size of your upper and lower jaw actually give us an indication as to whether or not there might be some sleep-disordered breathing. Asking the right questions is another important thing. So we always asked, what time do you go to sleep at night, obviously, there’s better times and others you should be sleeping for about seven to nine hours as a as an adult. We asked people if they wake up refreshed. Whether they wake up gasping for air, that can be a sign of sleep apnea, whether they wake up in the middle of the night really wide, which I know can, you know, be a sign of adrenal fatigue, but it can also be a sign of sleep apnea. If you’re not off after lunch without alcohol, if you can not off in a public place, if you can not off when you’re at a traffic light. These are all signs and symptoms that you’re not breathing well. And you know, dentist play a huge role by asking those questions in diagnosing potential sleep apnea. So, if we suspect anything, we work with sleep physicians, again, thinking more holistically, we work with a range of practitioners, we send them off to sleep studies. And depending on what comes back, we can make them night guards and appliances, and train them to breathe a little bit better through the nose rather than the mouth, and get better sleep, better health outcomes.

Natalie K. Douglas 14:55
Awesome. So, mouth breathing you just mentioned. So what influence, so if someone, obviously you’ve kind of alluded to the fact that breathing to like out of your mouth while you’re sleeping is not optimal.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas
Why is that? Like why is mouth breathing as opposed to breathing through your nose so detrimental to sleep quality and dental health?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 15:19
Yeah, so noses are for breathing, mouths are feeding. The tongue should be at the roof of the mouth, and you should be breathing through your nose. These four out of the five filtration mechanisms lie on the nose, the fifth one is your tonsils, which is in the mouth. And if you think about how much bacteria is around, in the air, with pollution, etc. You can expect that you will be able to filtrate that better through your nasal breathing, so it’s better for your overall health. There’s a fine hairs, I don’t know, it’s terminates and mucous membranes that woman humidify the air before it goes into our system. And if you mouth breathe, you bypass that and you allow the tonsils. Now if you allow on the tonsils, they swell up like golf balls. So, when I look at the back of the mouth, they’ve got really, really enlarged tonsils, that may be a sign that there’s some mouth breathing going on. And that can actually reduce the size of the airway even further, which leaves you more susceptible to sleep apnea, etc. The other thing as well as that if you mouth breath you actually dry out your saliva, which has a protective effect against tooth decay. So, we know saliva to neutralize the acid, you can also get higher rates of gum disease as well, because you’re not having that lubricating effect of saliva. And you’re also more likely to wake up and go to the bathroom as well because it affects your co2 balance in the body. So, if you breathe through your mouth, you’re more likely to get your co2 levels dropping, that’s causes your bladder to constrict. And then you wake up and go to the loo. And then that disturb your sleep when you should be resting and recovering.

Natalie K. Douglas 16:54
And actually, like now, you mentioned that, I member that being my main thing that was happening for me, and then it was the biggest change that happened when I got a night guard and went through the terrible sleep study process. FYI.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah. So much fun.

Natalie K. Douglas
And that was one of the things I noticed pretty quickly is I woke up feeling more fresh. And I also found I was waking up way less to go to the bathroom unless I’d, you know, had a lot of water before going to bed, which is not recommended everybody. So, yeah, interesting. Now, you mentioned also before that you guys have strategies to actually address mouth breathing, and therefore improve sleep quality. So what are the main strategies that you use?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 17:42
Well, it’s really dependent on what sort of signs and symptoms they have in their mouth. So, some of the reasons why your mouth breathers you might have a tongue-tie, for example, that’s a ligament underneath your tongue. And sometimes that gets really, really tight and, and short. And sometimes, you know, you can actually be born that way or in as a result of fading patterns when you’re a child or what have you. If that’s the case, that’ll actually be really difficult for you to get the tongue up at the roof of the mouth, which leaves you more susceptible to tooth crowding, because the tongue should be at the roof of the mouth. And that’s the best orthodontic appliance that we have unless you gave it to us. So, if your mouth breathing that way, then you know sometimes a little bit of surgery to release the tongue so you can actually get it up to the roof of the mouth is required. Other time it’s just lengthening the ligament by doing some, what we call oral myology, which is like oral physiotherapy exercises, there’s that. You know, breathing courses, actually retraining yourself how to breathe effectively, because we as a population, we tend to breathe through our mouths and we over breath. And so just going back to basics and retrain yourself. And then you know, in some cases, we actually recommend some mouth taping during the day or even at night time for people that can handle that or have been deemed, you know, safe to do so. It’s just a little bit of micropore tape, it’s not duct tape.

Natalie K. Douglas
I’m glad you pointed that out.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah. So it’s just a little paper, thin paper tape that has little paws through it. And I actually tape my mouth at night and I wake up far more refresh because I’m getting more oxygen, my co2 levels are in perfect balance, etc. So yeah, there’s ways that we can retrain people but it’s a hidden health epidemic, this is mouth breathing business.

Natalie K. Douglas 19:33
Yeah. Interesting. It’s, I find it all really fascinating because, again, like for someone like myself, that was like, is very into health. This stuff wasn’t even on my radar. So and as I said, having a night guard and doing some taping for me really made a difference too. So definitely something for people to consider discussing with the dentist as well. Now shifting gears slightly, me and Kate are very much into hormonal health.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas
And we wanted to know is there, I guess, does oral health have anything to do with hormonal health?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 20:10
Yeah. So I mean, hormonal changes can have a huge impact on your oral health. So yeah, I mean, depending on what stage of life you’re at, like, for example, puberty. You know, if we’re talking about women, but also young men as well, there’s an increased risk of gum inflammation, even without plaque. So, normally plaque causes gum inflammation, but just hormonal changes in young men and women through puberty can actually cause the gums to become inflamed. So, yeah, I mean, you can get some increase in bleeding gums or bleed more readily. You can even get what’s called advanced juvenile periodontitis, which is gum disease. And that’s characterized, you know, by the absence of plaque. So, that’s actually purely caused by an inflammatory response through hormonal changes. You know, as you get a little bit older, you know, if you take like menstruation, for example. It’s been associated with all altered collagen production in the gums, and there’s an increase in inflammatory cells. So, you’ll see more bleeding, swollen gums, temporary sort of tooth mobility, so loosening of teeth. And you can even see recurring ulcers, herpes, and candida infections during this time. So, like, and then obviously, like pregnancy, we, I’m not sure if everyone knows this, but you got a high chance of something called pregnancy gingivitis, which can happen depending on the studies, like between 30 and 100% of all pregnant women. Big range there, I know.

Natalie K. Douglas
So, good.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah, but that can sort of range from mild inflammation to severe gum overgrowth. So literally, like you can barely see the teeth. And then there’s pain, bleeding, and you can even get something called a pyogenic granuloma, which is also known as a pregnancy tumor, which can occur on the gums, but also can be found on like tongues, lips, cheeks, palettes, and there’s a higher sort of incidence or increase in aggressive bacteria associated with gum disease, then there’s contraceptives, that can you know, range from mild redness, you know, if you’re taking them to complete gum overgrowth.

Natalie K. Douglas
Wow.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
And then, yeah, there’s a whole range of stuff in like, menopause, post-menopause. There’s an association with like, you know, decreasing estrogen, and then you get high risk of osteoporosis and then you get low bone mass and increased risk of fracture, but because of the bones are affected, it actually has a profound effect on the quality of bone within the jaw. So, in the presence of already existing gum disease, you can actually get faster bone loss, which is a common effect of gum disease, a lot of people think gum disease just affect this the gums, but it actually causes a lot to bones. So that, yeah, hormones play a huge role in oral health that can cause some havoc.

Natalie K. Douglas 23:30
Just a few links there. Oh, wow. So that’s, that’s really interesting. And just to back up a bit on the pregnancy side of things. So given there is that increased risk during pregnancy? Is there, is that a time where people should be going to the dentist more frequently, or when someone is like becomes pregnant, or is, you know, going through pregnancy? Is that a time where, yeah, they should come and see a dentist?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 23:55
Yeah, hundred percent, because you can, because of the inflammation that you get an, you know, that you get an increase amount of inflammation, that that can actually cause preterm birth. So low birth weights the baby just wants to come out, you know.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Because it’s just such a hostile environment if there’s a lot of inflammation around, and the gums are the most common side of chronic inflammation in the body. So, yes, I always recommend people that are pregnant to have regular cleans throughout their pregnancy.

Natalie K. Douglas 24:28
Interesting, good to know. And really interesting to know, the link between post-menopause, low estrogen levels, and oral health because Kate and I actually have a big audience that suffer from or a lot of people that have suffered or are suffering from something called hypothalamic amenorrhea, which is when you lose your period because the brain stops communicating with the ovaries and often low estrogen is part of that story. So, that’s something I thought I would just highlight for people listening that are in that crowd because another reason to really focus on healing that condition that Kate and I talk about a lot.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Can you say that condition again?

Natalie K. Douglas
Hypothalamic amenorrhea.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Hypo?

Natalie K. Douglas
Hypo. Yep. So it’s, yeah, it’s really interesting. And Kate actually has a whole course on it. And Kate and I have both suffered from it. And usually, it is from not eating enough and exercising too much, or just too much stress on the body because the body, the body, you know, is going to prioritize survival over reproduction. So often your sex hormone production gets shut down. So yeah, really common thing to happen in eating disorders or history of eating disorders, that kind of situation. So, if, yeah, it’s it’s a good point to highlight because as I’ve said, we do have quite a few people that fall into that category that that listen and are on a healing journey. So, checking in with their dentist wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 26:01
Fascinating.

Natalie K. Douglas 26:01
Yes. Now moving slightly on, still relating to hormone. So, I specialize in thyroid conditions and I see a lot of people with hypothyroidism. And often what comes up is these people tend to have a lot of mercury fillings. And actually, it’s I guess, it’s a problem because mercury can inhibit the uptake of iodine into the thyroid gland, amongst other things, and I often recommend that people get their mercury fillings safely removed. And for those of our listeners that maybe are in this boat, do you have any advice around what questions they should be asking their dentist or anything they should consider before or after getting mercury fillings removed, or replaced, or whatever it is the process that happens?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 26:55
Um, yeah, well, I think the first thing is, is that you need to be communicating with the practitioner that’s looking after that person’s detoxification because there’s obviously a correct time to remove them. And we don’t really look after that side of things, you know, we just speak to the practitioner that’s, you know, looking after them, and then we’re just having when the right time is to remove them. Amalgam fillings contain 50% Mercury, and that can cause a whole range of issues, you know, with brain function, and larging organs, and things like that. And look, they’ve been a good servant to the dental community that there’s better materials out there by for your health and, you know, longevity as well. And, and chewability.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Don’t know if that’s a word.

Natalie K. Douglas 27:51
It is now.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 27:55
It is now? Yeah, and you know, unfortunately, it’s not industry standard to remove it safely. So, in our practice, what we do is we remove it under something called a rubber dam, which is a rubber shape it sits over the teeth, rather than drilling out the mercury just into the mouth, which can be somewhat ingested, even though we’re using a high-speed suction. And then we also give people medical-grade oxygen to breathe in. So we made them look like a bit of a fighter pilot, like a Top Gun.

Natalie K. Douglas
I love it.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah, very extreme. And they breathe in oxygen, as opposed to mercury vapor. And then we’ve also got filters in our room to pick up any vapor in the air. So it’s very important that those steps are taken if you’re going to get them removed, or if they don’t do it that way, then see someone who does remove them safely. The other thing as well is that it’s really important to up your selenium, leafy greens, sulfur-containing foods, because I can help to bind to any excess metal and help you to read it, read, read it yourself over. But ultimately, it’s a case-by-case thing, and every human body is different and all need different nutritional support. And that’s why, you know, we remove it safely and work with practitioners to help, you know, get the best result.

Natalie K. Douglas 29:18
Yeah, and on that note, obviously, I’m a practitioner that would support someone in that process. And I would just explain, generally speaking, so when Lewis is talking about timing it right. In my opinion, one of the big things to consider before getting any kind of amalgams removed or going through that process is a that you have good gut function because the last thing you want to be doing when, I guess the last thing you want to do is start I guess eliminating any kind of toxins without the capacity to get rid of them through your own. I guess detox pathways and part of those detoxification pathways are also included in the gut because elimination is a huge way that toxins exit the body. So, I will refuse to give anyone any nutrients or support to push their detoxification pathways until we have you know, regular bowel motions, a good functioning digestive system because otherwise what happens in liver detoxification is, if toxins aren’t eliminated, I guess in a timely manner, they will be turned into more reactive and more problematic intermediates, we call them, and be recirculated, which is worse than if you just didn’t touch them in the first place. So, definitely, something to be discussing with a practitioner before you go down that path, but really good tips in terms of safe removal and what people, the kind of questions people can ask as well. Because, yeah, I can imagine that removing them not safely would probably cause a lot more problems than if that were just left in there. And on that note, how do you guys protect yourself as dentist? Is it mainly the like the filter in the air or?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 31:07
Yeah, so that’s a little bit of a concerning thing for us is that, you know, the patient is really well protected. But for us, we’ve just got standard kind of masks and, you know, obviously, we’re using a lot of water spray, we’re trying to suppress the vapor as it rises. We use a lot of water, high-speed suction, you know, I’m washing my, after I remove the amalgam I’m washing my elbows and hands and changing gloves and changing mask. But, you know, it’s it is one of the concerning things about being a dentist and, and removing amalgams is that it can affect your health long term. And there are some masks out there that are meant to be, you know, quite good, but they can be quite bulky and get in the way of, you know, our like goggles and magnification that we wear. So, it’s a bit of a concern, but I’m, you know, one of the best ways to rid yourself of that sort of, you know, Mercury is to sweat, and urinate. And so I’m, you know, doing a lot of exercise and I’m eating really clean.

Natalie K. Douglas
Peeing a lot.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah, I’m trying to stay hydrated and, you know, sit in my Infrared Sauna every now and again, and you know, a couple of times a week just to put out some toxins. And I’ve actually done like a Mercury Tri-test recently.

Natalie K. Douglas
Oh, yeah. How did that go?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
So that’s blood, blood, hair, urine. And it was pretty, I mean, I’m not sure but it’s as good as a challenge test that sort of a bit of, you know, controversy about what tests you do for your mercury, but in that test, it was reasonably low, all things considered. So, I’m just gonna take it and run, run with it.

Natalie K. Douglas 32:56
I think so. Well, it sounds like you’ve got many good strategies in place. And hopefully, as time goes on, they’ll be more technology to protect you guys further, because obviously, that’s very important as well.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 33:09
Yeah, I hope so too.

Natalie K. Douglas 33:12
Alright, so a few quick dental FAQs for you that I came up with myself from just questions I thought that people would want to know the answer to. And you don’t have to go into great detail but I know that these questions would be questions that a lot of people are wondering about. So, first of all, is flossing really that important?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 33:36
Yeah, it is. And for the reason why is that, you know, flossing gets the areas where you brush can’t get to. So, if you think about how we it creates that haven’t more brush the same way over and over again, think about not flossing for years and years and years, there’s going to be an accumulation of plaque, which will leave you susceptible to decay and gum disease. But also, a lot of people think that they’re just gonna get rid of all the bacteria like that’s the purpose of flossing. But in fact, what you’re trying to do is introduce oxygen into an area underneath the gums where oxygen doesn’t exist. So, bacteria that are really aggressive, the anaerobic bacteria, they leave without oxygen. That’s how tenacious they are. And what you’re actually doing with flossing by placing your force underneath your gum gently, is introducing oxygen into that space and making the bacteria friendly, as opposed to a foe.

Natalie K. Douglas 34:25
There you go. And should you brush and then floss or floss and then brush?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 34:29
Personally, I’m big on flossing, and then brushing. So, you pull, you get some of that bacteria out, some of the plaques, some of the old food that’s in there. Yummy.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yum.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
And then you brush it away.

Natalie K. Douglas 34:42
Nice. Okay. Good, good to know. And next question is, what is oil pulling? And in your clinical experience, does it make a difference?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 34:53
Yeah, so Oil Pulling is basically just getting a teaspoon, or teaspoon, or tablespoon of coconut oil first thing in the morning, popping it in the mouth and swishing it around your mouth. And the idea is that the fats, the you know, the liquids in the coconut oil actually pull plaque, hence, oil pulling from underneath the gums. And it’s also got some lauric acid, which is antibacterial. And you do it for 15 minutes, don’t swallow it because it’s all that gum coming out. And don’t spit it down your drains because you have a plumbing problem. And, yeah, I think it’s worthwhile. A lot of people that are anti it.

Natalie K. Douglas 35:30
Have gum disease. No, I’m just kidding.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 35:33
Well, you know, some of the people that are, either put it this way, there are a lot worse things that you can do than do oil pulling, it’s a useful adjunct. And we’ve seen it work quite well for things like gingivitis, and even some mild gum disease but the more advanced stuff, you’re not going to get much out of oil pulling but it’s a good sort of preventative thing. For people that have pretty good oral health.

Natalie K. Douglas 35:59
Yeah, good idea. And just a tip everyone, you can actually, like because a lot of people when they first try it, try and do it for 15 minutes with the same oil, like the same spoonful of oil. And sometimes, like, I know personally sometimes I’m like, all right, this is I can’t handle this anymore. So, I sometimes like, we’ll put in like half, like a teaspoon of oil, and then swish it around or whatever for half that time and then put in another teaspoon, because otherwise, sometimes I’ve just it’s just getting too much.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah. Good tip, Nat.

Natalie K. Douglas
So, just a heads up. And if you’re a small person like me, a teaspoon usually is enough. I’ve tried a tablespoon once and I was like, oh, this was a mistake.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 36:41
It’s really gross when you first do it.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yes.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
I just started a couple of minutes and just see how you go built into it.

Natalie K. Douglas 36:48
Yup, yup. I often like, I’d often tell people to like, do it in the shower, do it while you’re doing something else so you’re distracting yourself. Otherwise, all you’re focusing on is the fact that there’s like so much saliva and oil in your mouth. And all you want to do is get rid of it.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 37:02
Yeah, plus 15 minutes is a long time. So, I leave a jar of coconut oil and I spit it in my shower. So, when I have my morning shower or by the time I’m dry and dressed, it’s done.

Natalie K. Douglas 37:13
Good tip. There you go. Alright, next question is, does having apple cider vinegar destroy your tooth enamel?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 37:23
The answer is yes because vinegars got to pay about 2.2 and your enamel will start to degrade and break down anything lower than 5.5. And so, if you’re having a kind of not diluted enough, and you’re not kind of diluting that acid, then you’ll eventually wear away your enamel. So, if you’re holding it in your mouth, that’s a big no-no. If you’re doing it undiluted, I wouldn’t recommend it and otherwise, wait at least half an hour before brushing your teeth because you can actually strip away your enamel. So just be a little bit careful with that. I think you need to pop into your dentist something like really thin enamel and a more susceptable to erosion. Understanding the gut is hugely important and getting that acid load is really important, but you know, definitely dilute it.

Natalie K. Douglas 38:18
Yeah. Okay. And by dilute, like, do you have a rough amount or just make sure you’re not shutting it from the from the bottle?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 38:27
Yeah, I probably do like a 90% water, 10% maybe 5, 5% apple cider vinegar, 95% water or 90, 10.

Natalie K. Douglas 38:37
And does drinking it through a non-plastic straw. Sorry, me and Kate are all against the waist but I’m drinking it through like a stainless steel straw or something like that help at all?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 38:47
Yeah, hundred percent. And yes, plastic straws are a mess.

Natalie K. Douglas 38:52
Excellent. I’m glad we’re on the same page. All right. Just also a note on that. So, coffee is like is acidic too. Does that mean that people shouldn’t brush their teeth, like 30 minutes after having their coffee? Should they wait a bit longer?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 39:06
Yeah, I think, at least they wait, yeah, at least 30 minutes. That’s always a good idea. And it depends also how they’re having their coffee like if people have milk, I know that milk is kind of a controversial thing. Some people can’t really handle it but if people are having milk in their coffee, that’s obviously better. From an acidic standpoint, and a tooth perspective than having like a black coffee, which is doesn’t have any kind of case in or anything to neutralize it down a bit. So, yeah, I’ll just give it a bit of time.

Natalie K. Douglas 39:36
Yeah. Okay. Cool. Good tip. Next one is, what are your favorite foods for optimal dental health?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 39:43
So, we know that foods high in vitamin A, D, E, and K, that fat-soluble ones allow the uptake of water-soluble vitamins like.

Natalie K. Douglas 39:54
Vitamin C. Yeah. etc.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 39:56
Yeah. And then also allow the uptake of things like calcium, phosphorus, which are naturally occurring in teeth and jawbones, which actually add strength. So you can just google natural, healthy versions of foods high in vitamin A, D, E, and K. And then also make sure you’re getting enough vitamin C, which is really important for your, your gum tissue, and reducing inflammation, but also things like fiber stimulate, stimulate saliva production, and making sure you’re eating chewy, healthy foods. So, nuts, carrots, carrots, celery sticks, those sorts of things, as opposed to biscuits and all that sort of stuff, which is sticky and maybe more susceptible to decay. That’s really important to promote saliva production. And also, everything that we do these days where everything that we eat seems to be soft. So there’s a lot of information out there about what to eat but not how to eat. And we actually need to put our jaws on the tension, you know, by actually chewing hard foods, that’s what we’re naturally meant to do and this can promote healthy jaw growth in kids, but also create strength in kids and adults. So, there’s actually a higher incidence of jaw fractures this day and age than there was decades ago. And that’s because we’re just not putting our jaws under enough stress. So, don’t chopped your food up into tiny little pieces all the time and actually put your jaws to work, and don’t drink smoothies and soups all day.

Natalie K. Douglas 41:28
Yeah, no, good point. And me and Kate, are very much advocates of eating your food, not drinking your food for the most part because it also is really important from a digestive and satiety point of view. So there you go, another reason to eat your food instead of drink your food. All right, next question is, should people be using fluoride toothpaste or natural toothpaste?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 41:52
Yeah, very common question I get. It’s, it’s it’s case by case. So I mean, the average Australian consumes about 40 kilos of sugar a year, and I don’t consume that much. So, someone’s having my share.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah, me too.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
And, you know, that’s the equivalent of about, you know, the weight of a 12-year-old kid. So, it’s a lot of sugar.

Natalie K. Douglas
You’re right.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
So, um, yeah, if you’re consuming the standard kind of Australian diet, then you know, a bit, some topical fluoride has been shown to be beneficial for your teeth and reduce the risk of decay. But again, tooth decay is a disease of diet more than anything, and poor oral hygiene. And so, if you’re eating those natural healthy foods high in A, D, E, and K, you don’t have a sweet tooth. Regular visitors to the dentist, then you know, and you don’t have a higher decay rate, then, you know, perhaps you can stay clear of it. But if you’ve got a diet that’s not so good, I would, wouldn’t hurt you know, to use a fluoride toothpaste. Just make sure you’re not ingesting anything because it’s nasties in it. And don’t use a toothpaste that has like microbeads in it. That’s bad for the environment. And don’t, don’t choose one that has triclosan, which is got some cancer risk associated potentially. So, you got to pick and choose. Personally, I use a natural toothpaste but when I’ve been a bit naughty around Easter time, or Christmas time with all my chocolates and things, I’ve got a chocolate problem, Nat.

Natalie K. Douglas 43:30
We can actually speak about that after then.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 43:32
Yeah. Then you know, I might throwing, you know, a week or two with a fluoride toothpaste. You just going to be a bit pragmatic rather than dogmatic about it, I think.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
And, you know, there’s some people that with really poor saliva flow, have had, you know, cancer and radiation to the mouth. And obviously, they need some support, other people not so much. So, it’s case by case.

Natalie K. Douglas 43:52
Yep. So, don’t snack on your toothpaste, everybody. Good tip, right?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 43:56
100%. So, many kids like swallowing.

Natalie K. Douglas 44:01
I’m not gonna lie. I used to do that because they had such delicious flavors like who make strawberry flavored toothpaste and expect you not to eat it?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 44:08
Yeah, that’s part of a marketing strategy.

Natalie K. Douglas 44:11
I feel like that should change. I can’t buy it as an adult because you know, I might get nostalgic and start eating toothpaste again. So, I just stick to mint.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah, not good.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah. All right, moving right along. Um, the next question I have for you is, what is tongue scraping? And do you recommend that people look into this?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 44:30
Yeah, so tongue scraping is basically scraping your tongue, who would have thought?

Natalie K. Douglas
Oh, stop it.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
But yeah, we can accumulate plaque and some nasty bacteria in the fissures of our tongues. So, these little grooves in our tongue. And so, very, very gentle scraping with a hard product. So, I’ve got like this little Dr. Tung’s stainless steel one.

Natalie K. Douglas
I have one of those.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah, that’s reusable. Just gentle, like three or four strokes per day is enough. And you’d be surprised what comes off your tongue, it’s pretty, pretty filthy.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah. It’s pretty gross.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
But because your tongue is soft, you need something hard in the same way that your tooth is hard, you need something soft to brush it with. So it’s kind of the opposite but using your toothbrush is fine too. You just probably want to do such a good job and yes and a little thing to deal with some bad breath issues and just keep the mouth a little bit cleaner but don’t scrape too hard because you will know about it, it’ll be very sore

Natalie K. Douglas 45:35
Yeah. Guilty. I’m a bit of like all or nothing person. When I first got out, I was like right I’m gonna get all this stuff off. Yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas
Not recommended. He’s serious when he says do it softly.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 45:45
Yeah, I learned the hard way too.

Natalie K. Douglas 45:48
Yeah. I was like, oh my gosh my, like, my mouth is bleeding and I was like oh, right. Soft like actually means soft, it was like the first like, it was like when I started. To be honest, I didn’t floss my teeth for quite a while there when I was in my avoiding the dentist period. And then when I started flossing again, I was the same in terms of like, not doing it gently. So again, emphasizing that everyone learns from my mistakes and do it gently like harder is not better.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 46:15
Same with brushing. Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas 46:17
Okay, now, on the topic of brushing, manual or electric toothbrushes?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 46:23
Look, on balanced electric or sonic toothbrushes? Probably a better at removing plaque than a manual but if you’re not brushing in a systematic or systematic way and continually miss spots, obviously it make sense that it doesn’t matter what you use, if you’re not brushing it, it won’t get clean. So, good technique is the first thing. The other thing as well is that, from an environmental perspective, basically 30 million plastic toothbrushes going to landfill.

Natalie K. Douglas
Wow.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Every year in Australia, so you know, manual biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes are probably a good option for your mouth and the environment but on balance probably an electric or a sonic toothbrushes does a better job. So, what I would say is if you have a electric toothbrush or a sonic toothbrush at home, then when you go on trips and you don’t want to you know lug it in your bag with you just choose a biodegradable one rather than you know biodegradable manual toothbrush rather than getting another plastic one because you know every every little bit counts for the environment.

Natalie K. Douglas 47:42
Yeah, agreed. Good tip. What about professional teeth whitening? So, is it safe in your experience or opinion?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 47:51
Yeah, so everyone should be assessed for tooth whitening. Everyone has their own whitening potential. Some people have very thin enamel, some have existing sensitivity, and all these factors need to be assessed beforehand. But in moderation, it is safe particularly if it’s done by health professional, it hasn’t been shown to cause any long-term damage as long as you’re not obsessed with it. And you know, we’ve got a couple of sort of younger more vain patients that unfortunately get you know, just want wider and wider and wider and they just keep using it day in day out and you just have to not literally but knock some sense into them. And just say you’re actually, you know.

Natalie K. Douglas 48:36
I’m glad you preface that with. Not literally.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 48:40
People are already scared to the dentist. But yeah, you know, that that’s going to cause irreversible damage if you’re doing it too much. But you know, if you do it once a year and you’re using a gentle home sort of kit or you get, you’re inch of winding down every couple of years. I’m not overly concerned by that, particularly if your diet is really good and all the other aspects of your health and oral health are good but yeah, there’s also a lot of gimmicks out there as well. They are promising the world and delivering so little, ultimately, I think you need to be guided by your health professional and your dental health professional and don’t take matters into your own hands because it is at the end of the day a chemical and you shouldn’t be just using it willy nilly.

Natalie K. Douglas 49:21
Good tip. Now, on the note of teeth whitening. What about charcoal? So, we have a lot of wellness warriors that listen to this and I know that that question would pop up. So, is using like charcoal to whiten your teeth safe and or effective?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 49:39
Yeah, this is a funny, really funny one because there’s not a lot of studies on it. So, it’s just all kind of anecdotal. A couple of concerns I have is that it depends on the abrasiveness of the charcoal. So, some of the, some of the charcoal stuff has like really big sea grains, you can feel it when you try it and that’s going to be abrasive and wear away your tooth enamel over time. And like I said, there’s just not the long-term studies on safety. So, I’d say exercise caution. Again, get assessed by your dental professional. I’ve seen it work anecdotally well, but I’ve also seen it do some damage to the teeth long term. And I’ve also seen it do the complete opposite which you know, particularly if you’ve got fillings on your front teeth. I’ve had a couple of patients that have come in with gray teeth because it’s gotten into the the joint between their filling and their tooth. There’s always a little microscopic gap and then they’ve just got these gray lines on their teeth and I’ve spent like an hour an hour and a half trying to get it off because it freaked out of going. I cannot go outside looking like these metallic gray.

Natalie K. Douglas
Oh, gosh.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Which, which is obviously a bit disturbing for them but you know funny at the same time in hindsight but but so yeah, it’s, I just think you need to be guided by people in the know because you know, your teeth is so important for your self-esteem and they’re so important for the rest of your health. You know, if it’s going around smiling with gray teeth what what favors have you done yourself?

Natalie K. Douglas 51:09
Or anyone else.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 51:10
Or anyone else freaking a few people out. So, just exercise caution when it comes to that, and um.

Natalie K. Douglas
Okay.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
I was going to mention something. I was going to mention something else about the charcoal it’s.

Natalie K. Douglas 51:25
So, how do you, like besides just feeling like the abrasiveness or like the texture of the charcoal on your teeth? Is there any other way that you can tell if one of them has like, a small particle size or a big particle size, or is it just literally, you’ve, you’ve kind of got to feel it. I’m just asking for the people who are like.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas
I’m just gonna do it anyway.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 51:47
It’s a good question. I think it is more of a fail thing. But I guess if it’s, if you’re making your own, just try and crush it into the smallest little bits possible and you know, if there’s added ingredients in the toothpaste that you’re using, that’s probably a good thing. So it’s less charcoal.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
But the other thing that I also think about charcoal toothpaste is that everyone goes, oh my God, look at these results that I’ve got. And I’m not sure if it’s actually because you’ve put something black on your teeth.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
And then you’ve washed it away. And then all of a sudden, it’s you know, it’s that kind of color perception thing.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
You know, like, if you go into a dark room, and then you come out into broad daylight. Everything just seems so much brighter.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
So, I’m not sure if that’s apply to when, you know, we’re getting sucked into a bit of marketing. But again, there’s just not that long. I like to be a bit cynical at times but I don’t know if we’re just getting sucked into some marketing or whether it actually works. Time will tell but I think just, there’s some tried and tested methods. And I don’t know, be guided by your health, your dental health professional.

Natalie K. Douglas 52:55
Yeah. And it’s probably not something that anyone’s going to do a study on, because who’s going to get any money for that?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 53:00
Exactly. It’s not like we’re saving lives with charcoal toothpaste so.

Natalie K. Douglas 53:04
Not just yet.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas
Okay, well, we’ll take your advice on that. And stay clear of that for the most part, or at least have a discussion with the dentist first. Now, all of that dental stuff has been very informative, and very interesting. And to wrap up, I want to ask you some questions that I ask all the guests that come on the show. The first one is, what is your morning routine, not relating to oral health, just generally.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 53:33
So, I have recently brought in meditation into my life. So, I wake up at about six and I got taught by a Vedic meditation teachers. That’s a mantra-based meditation. So, I just do about 15 or 20 minutes of meditation in the morning and doing that for about two months. You probably have to check in with me in a few months time to see if I’m still doing it. But at this stage, I wake up, do some meditation, and then I, as previously mentioned, don’t eat any breakfast. So, currently starving myself too, Nat. And yeah, it’s a really great start of the day. And yeah, just a little bit of exercise, just try and move my body, just do a little walk or started getting up early and going and doing some, some gym work. And then yeah, you get to work and start fixing teeth essentially.

Natalie K. Douglas 54:34
Nice. I like it. Very interesting morning routine. I am, a lot of people that listen do meditate also but I totally feel your pain on the check-in in a few months time to see whether it’s still happening. It’s funny that meditation often drops off when we need it the most. I know that that’s been the case for me when I was doing my yoga teacher training. I was meditating all of the time. And then, I kind of was taken out of that environment and it was still there but it was definitely less frequent and shorter. So, I think, tip like the more you can keep in the habit of it and not get out of the habit, the easier it is to keep it going like anything, but I like that morning routine.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 55:17
Yeah, so far, so good.

Natalie K. Douglas 55:19
Excellent. What about, is it the same on the weekends or does it change on the weekends?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 55:22
I don’t get up that early but yeah, I’m an early riser these days. I’ve lost the ability to sleep in. So, yeah, I try and try and get off and maintain the routine. Waking up at the same time is very important for your sleep patterns.

Natalie K. Douglas 55:38
True. True story. Good tip. All right. And last question to finish off is what are your three non-negotiables to lead your healthiest and happiest life?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 55:50
I think prioritizing your sleep is very important. Probably sounding like a broken record here but I think sleeps the foundation for health and you make really good, healthy decisions if you’re well-rested. So, prioritizing your sleep for sure, practicing good sleep hygiene, getting off electronics, going to bed early, winding down before bed, you know having a bath, reading a book, meditating, whatever it is, that’s really important. I think taking control of your own health. You know, if you rely on other people, or if the only thing you know about oral health is your dentist number, then you’re probably in trouble. So, I think, taking control of your own health, having a having an active interest in researching and accessing information, and speaking to the right people is really important because no one else is going to take control of your most important asset, your health.

Natalie K. Douglas 56:44
Listening to a really good podcasts like this one, would that be included in getting good information?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 56:50
100%

Natalie K. Douglas
I thought so.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
And then, I just think from a happiness standpoint, I think, you know, exercising some gratitude. I know we’re pretty lucky to live where we live in this day and age and just trying to find some good gratitude every day is really important for your mental health and, and you know, having good energy around people that you care about. So, that would, that would be my tips.

Natalie K. Douglas 57:23
I like it, very good tips. And I totally agree with the number one being sleep. And Kate and I often kind of try and emphasize that although we’re both nutritionists and dietitians. People often expect that will say what you eat is the most important thing, but we’re both of the opinion that kind of sleep from the stress management are probably above nutrition to be honest but anyway, that’s that. So, thank you for joining us, Lewis. If you guys want to check out Lewis has many social media selfies, accompanied by very helpful practical dental information, then I can highly recommend checking out his Instagram, which is doctor.lewis. Is that right, Lewis? It’s doctor.lewis for instagram?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yep. Cool.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 58:04
doctor.lewis Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas 58:09
There you go. Thank you. And you also has a website which is doctorlewis.com.au, but it’s just Dr. not spells out, right for that one?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas
Yeah. Keep people on their toes, right?

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich
100% Yeah.

Natalie K. Douglas
All right. Or if you guys are in Sydney, and in need of a holistic dentist, then definitely check out Sydney Holistic Dental. Lewis, thank you so much for joining us and providing us with lots of interesting information. And hopefully, you get an influx of patients.

Dr. Lewis Ehrlich 58:40
Hope so too. Thank you.

Outro 58:42
Thanks for tuning in to The Holistic Nutritionists Podcast. Remember, we love to make the show relevant to you. So, if you have any questions or topics you’d like discussed on the show, simply submit them to [email protected] or [email protected] and we’ll get them answered for you. Also, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on iTunes and share it with your friends and family too. Need more personalized nutrition advice? Why not invest in a consultation to accelerate your journey to your optimal health. You can find Nat over at HealthByWholefoods.com.au and Kate at TheHolisticNutritionist.com. See you next time guys.