Artisan Dental

by Kevin Fritz 

While you may not think a trip to the dentist could prevent a serious illness or possibly save your life down the road, think again. Dentists who practice integrative dental medicine are trained to uncover abnormalities that may be lurking in your body by diagnosing the earliest symptoms of these issues in the mouth, head, and neck.

Dr. Mary Isaacs of Artisan Dental in Winter Springs is one such practitioner who understands that finding the root cause of a patient’s condition can have a tremendous impact on their health and well-being.

Artisan Dental, which recently added a second dentist, Dr. Katie Miller, concentrates on treating the whole patient, not just the disease, from prevention to diagnosis and treatment.

“We have a health focus,”explains Dr. Isaacs. “We want to put an end to a patient’s disease, so it never happens again. We want our biorejuvenation dentistry to last, and it starts by diagnosing the root cause of the problem.”

While Artisan Dental of course provides routine dental procedures and cosmetic dentistry, Dr. Isaacs notes that the evolution of dentistry in the past few years allows her to address factors that can cause disease by using proven diagnostic methods and treatment options.

“First, we conduct comprehensive exams, and then we look at the teeth,” she says. “We look at the biology before we look at the disease. We spend so much time with our patients. We often treat patients with complex cases who have received treatment elsewhere but did not get the results they needed.”

Dr. Miller is implementing a relatively new test called HR5. It checks for the top 5 pathogens – called Red Complex – that can harm our teeth, heart, and brain. While some pathogens do not lead to serious illness, others can cause miscarriages, low-birth-weight babies, strokes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. If pathogens are found, the doctors can usually treat patients with medicines geared toward attacking a specific pathogen.

“We used to say we provide exceptional smiles for health and for life,” says Dr. Isaacs. “Now, we are saving lives by working on a cellular level.”

Dr. Isaacs also looks for inflammation and plaque build-up in the mouth, signs there may be an issue with the arteries, which is a red flag for heart attacks or strokes.

“Plaque in the mouth, plaque in the heart, and maybe the brain,” she says. “And it is so easy to treat.”

Sleep Disorders and Dentistry

Dr. Isaacs, who recently earned a prestigious Diplomate designation from the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, includes a sleep-centric focus in her practice, understanding the correlation between sleep disorders and an array of health issues.

Considered an expert in the dental sleep medicine field, she has found that treating sleep disorders can not only address mouth pain and ease snoring, but the treatment can also lower blood pressure, reduce cardiovascular disease and strokes, and correct neck and joint disorders.

“We also know sleep disorders can cause bedwetting and be diagnosed as ADHD in children,” Dr. Isaacs says, adding that having kids wear appliances at night can have a significant and rapid impact on those kinds of problems.

The doctors also practice what they preach.

Dr. Miller’s children are now wearing appliances to prevent the advancement of sleep apnea because her kids were having trouble breathing through their noses. The appliances bring the jaw forward, allowing airways to open. Dr. Isaacs, who had long suffered sinus maladies, wears a VIVOS oral appliance.

For children, sleep apnea is not the only concern. The absence of nasal breathing can cause changes to craniofacial development due to excessive mouth breathing.

To address the issue, Hygienist Carol Norsesian has completed training to become an Oral Myofunctional Therapist, a practitioner who teaches children and adults to breathe through their nose but also strengthen the muscles in the tongue and face. This helps with both sleep disorders, temporomandibular disorders (TMD).  Treating sleep apnea and other sleeping disorders can help heal the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). 

Meet Dr. Miller

Dr. Miller, born and raised in Central Illinois, earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Butler University and a Doctor of Medical Dentistry degree from the University of Louisville. She received post-graduate training at the prestigious Pankey Institute in Key Biscayne, Florida, before committing to an Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at the University of Florida in St. Petersburg.

Practicing for 20 years, Dr. Miller lives in Maitland with her husband Dave and their two children. She has been a close friend of Dr. Isaacs for 10 years and joined the practice last August.

“She is the perfect fit for our office,” says Dr. Isaacs. “Plus, my biggest goal is to have a legacy when I move on. I am treating some of the same patients I did in 1984, and now I am treating their kids and their grandkids.”