Did you know that breathing through your nose can improve your health? Mouth breathing has been linked to crooked teeth, poor facial growth, cavities, bad breath, gum disease, snoring and sleep apnea. The benefits of nasal breathing are huge! Nasal breathing warms, humidifies and filters the inhaled air ensuring that it does not damage the airway or the lungs and prevents harmful bacteria from entering the respiratory tract. Nasal breathing also drastically increases the rate of nitric oxide production, which lowers blood pressure, boosts the immune system, improves exercise performance and increases brain function. Simply learning to breathe through your nose can help you live longer!
This information was new to Rebecca Jardine as she learned early on that all 3 of her kids were mouth breathers and were heading down a road that could lead to undesirable facial growth and health issues. This led her to pursue a more natural holistic approach to orthodontics and dentistry.
Having her own dental practice was never in her plans. Rebecca was happy treating patients as an associate dentist in various dental offices over the past 19 years. She graduated with honors from the University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry in 2002. Working in community dental clinics for 13 years brought much fulfillment serving the under-served community in the Bay area. It was a joy and privilege to be able to provide high-quality personalized care to those who would normally not be able to obtain dental care. Jumping back into private practice 5 years ago gave Rebecca a desire to learn more and to improve her skills. She has since taken hundreds of hours of continuing education in Cosmetic Dentistry, Implant Dentistry and Airway-friendly Orthodontics.
Her passion has become to incorporate Holistic minimalist dentistry into improving her patients’ overall health. This has led to her desire to have a practice that she can call her own and do dentistry the way she thinks it should be done. She unexpectedly had the opportunity to purchase a lovely little space in Lafayette that she has named “The Natural Tooth”. Her philosophy is to preserve as much of your natural tooth as possible. This comes from a holistic approach in that she sees the mouth as an integrated part of the body and considers oral health problems as they relate to total body health. A healthy mouth leads to a healthy body. An unhealthy mouth leads to an unhealthy body. Plaque and tartar buildup on your teeth can be an indicator of and increase your risk for plaque buildup on your arteries, leading to an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. A holistic dentist focuses on balancing the health of the mouth to improve not only your teeth and gums but your overall health as well.
Following the same thought has led to a desire to pursue Airway Orthodontics. This is a type of orthodontics that focuses on the airway and either maintaining or improving airway space. This is a non-retractive, non-extraction orthodontics that believes in incorporating proper nasal breathing. Airway Orthodontics not only seeks to straighten crooked teeth but also seeks why your child has crooked teeth to treat any underlying causes of obstructed breathing, so your child can enjoy a lifetime of optimum breathing and perform to their full potential.
The Natural Tooth is a family-friendly dental practice that seeks to maintain that personal small hometown feel where we know your name and treat you like family. Our amazing staff can’t wait to welcome you into our dental family!
The Jardine family has lived in Orinda for 11 years. Eric and Rebecca have 12 year old triplets that you will likely see around town, either riding their bikes, playing soccer, water polo or swimming for Orinda Park Pool.