Medicine vs Health: The Patient vs. The Medical Industrial Complex

The healthcare system, despite its name, does not exist to ensure health — it exists to practice medicine. These two concepts are not synonymous, and therein lies a significant problem: while medicine can treat illness, it does not inherently lead to health. More troublingly, the medical industrial complex is not structured to incentivise health but rather the ongoing management of sickness.

The Medical Model is About Profit

But why would the healthcare industry be set up in such a way that it isn't designed to promote health? Quite simply, there is more money in medicine than there is in health.

Consider the pharmaceutical industry, one of the largest and most profitable parties within the medical industrial complex. The profitability of pharmaceutical companies relies solely on the sale of drugs, and those sales thrive in an environment where people are chronically ill. Thus, there is an underlying incentive structure that keeps patients tethered to prescription medications for extended periods.

Chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, are prime examples. These conditions are largely manageable through lifestyle changes and preventive measures, yet they remain some of the most profitable areas for pharmaceutical companies. Once a patient is diagnosed, they are often prescribed lifelong medication - ensuring a steady stream of income for the companies that produce these drugs. The result is a system that profits from managing sickness, not curing it.

Healthy People Don't Make the Medical Industry Money - Sick People Do

Compounding this issue is the fact that the pharmaceutical industry (and other key stakeholders in the medical industrial complex) corrupts medical science for their own benefit. The Instagram post embedded below explains how this phenomenon occurs and illustrates how big pharma leverages medical research to create a positive feedback loop for itself (to the detriment of the patient).

Medicine vs Health: A Misalignment of Incentives

The distinction between health and medicine can be distilled down to the alignment of incentives. Under a health model, the objectives for each party are clear: to maximally benefit the health and well-being of the patient. This creates an environment in which the incentives for both the patient and practitioner are in perfect alignment. 

Under a medical model, the objectives for each party are disparate: the patient wants to maximally benefit their health while the practitioner is confined to operating within a system that maximally benefits the medical-industrial complex. This creates an environment where patient and practitioner incentives are misaligned.

What Does This Mean for Dentistry?

Though distinct from general medicine, dentistry operates within the same flawed medical model that prioritises treatment over prevention and is reactive rather than proactive. Much like doctors, dentists are trained to treat specific problems — decayed teeth, gum disease, crooked teeth, etc. — without addressing the underlying systemic causes that may be contributing to these conditions.

Dentistry is Siloed

Moreover, dentistry is siloed from broader medical care, whereby dentists and doctors are seen as operating in separate domains. This is despite the irrefutable connection between oral health and overall systemic health.

For instance, poor oral health and oral infection and toxicity are known catalysts for and aggravators of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even adverse pregnancy outcomes, yet these connections are seldom addressed by dentists or doctors. Instead, the modern medical model trains dentists and doctors to treat patients and their symptoms in isolation, focusing on the mouth or the body alone and not together.

Our Philosophy: What We Do Differently

At Eric Davis Dental, we don't subscribe to the typical medical model, we subscribe to a health model. Fundamentally, what this means is that we look beyond your oral health and assess it with respect to your total body health. This is an ethical imperative to us, and we view it as the only avenue to help our patients achieve true health. This philosophy is borne out in a revolutionary treatment style and methodology that is unique to our clinic. It's what we call Total Dental Revision.

Total Dental Revision

Total Dental Revision offers a clear departure from the flawed medical model by addressing the root of systemic health issues. The program is built on the understanding that the mouth is a critical gateway to overall health, and dental toxins can significantly contribute to chronic diseases such as heart disease, autoimmune diseases, cancer, arthritis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's.

Each program is carefully tailored to each individual's unique health needs, focusing on dietary optimisation, supplementation, and a structured sequence of dental procedures designed to optimally support the body's natural healing processes.

The Total Dental Revision Program

The Total Dental Revision (TDR) program consists of four key phases designed to support your journey to optimal health.

1 - Body Chemistry Analysis

The program begins with a comprehensive analysis of your body chemistry through blood and urine tests. These tests identify imbalances and toxic elements, such as mercury, and provide the foundation for your personalised nutrition and supplementation plan, preparing your body for detoxification and healing.

2 - Nutritional Optimisation and Supplementation

A customised diet and supplementation plan is created based on your body chemistry analysis results. This plan supports your body's detoxification by aligning with your ancestral nutritional patterns, enhancing cellular function, and promoting the elimination of toxic metals and other harmful substances.

3 - Dental Evaluation and Revision

This phase includes a thorough evaluation of your oral health, such as testing the electrical activity of amalgam fillings and assessing periodontal health. Toxic dental materials, like mercury fillings, are removed safely and sequentially and replaced with biocompatible alternatives. Compatibility testing ensures the new materials align with your immune system, minimising further toxicity risk.

4 - Follow-Up and Monitoring

After dental revisions, ongoing assessments monitor your recovery and adjust your nutritional and supplementation regimen as needed. Regular re-evaluations ensure your body continues to detoxify and heal, with progress carefully tracked at key intervals.

A Dentist That Prioritises Your Health

Contact us today to learn more about our approach to dentistry and whole-body health or how our Total Dental Revision Program can improve your health and well-being.