Many of you may think of Ozone as the layer of gas found high in the atmosphere. It also has many different uses, for disinfecting our water supply, for keeping the Jacuzzi water clean, and also for bleaching. But let’s focus on it’s amazing ability to help our bodies stay free of disease-causing pathogens.

Ozone is a powerful oxidant against bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. It basically burns a hole through the cellular membrane causing it to rupture. The important thing to know is that it is not harmful to our cells, due to the antioxidants present there. Water treatment research in Europe found that one molecule of Ozone has the power of more than 3,000 molecules of chlorine against different bacteria. It demonstrated that Ozone killed pathogenic or disease-causing organisms 3,500 times faster with no toxic side effects. Hundreds of medical ozone studies have demonstrated benefits such as improved wound healing and an accelerated immune system response.

Although Ozone has been around since the turn-of-the-century, it fell out of favor with the invention of antibiotics. Now, because we are becoming resistant to these antibiotics, and we see the side effects due to their overuse, Ozone is making a big comeback.

In my practice, I use Ozone routinely, in the form of gas or ozonated water, for different reasons:
– to disinfect the mouth via rinsing with ozonated water as a pre-treatment rinse before surgery
– we put ozonated water in the water supply bottles of the handpieces to keep them bacteria free
– all of our hygiene visits are done with ozone gas to treat gingival inflammation and reverse cavities
– in the treatment of abscesses with ozone injections, which work better than any antibiotic I could prescribe
– for treatment of dental hypersensitivity
– for treatment of oral ulcers
– to disinfect the air in our office, from the aerosols caused by the dental drill

Ozone is in fact, three molecules of oxygen, which are stable only for short period of time. For this reason, ozonated water cannot be bottled. However, there are some home units to generate ozonated water for daily rinsing. This is not as strong as a professional unit, but it may be a good addition for someone suffering from mouth sores.

In great health,
Dr. Sanda

For more information on dental hygiene using Ozone contact Dr. Sanda Moldovan to schedule a consultation.