Ozone in Dentistry

What is it? Ozone is created in our atmosphere when oxygen is exposed to an electrical source, like lightning, converting O2 to O3.  The chemical bonds holding the 3 oxygen atoms together are very unstable, creating an oxidizing effect on anything it touches (in other words, it wants to give away that third oxygen atom).  This makes ozone our atmosphere’s “clean-up crew,” as it oxidizes and helps eliminate pollutants.  So when the meteorologist warns us about high ozone levels, it means that pollution is so high that more ozone has dropped down to lower parts of the atmosphere to help clean it up.  This can be detrimental to our health because ozone and oxidized pollutants can be irritating to our lungs.

How does ozone work? In medicine and dentistry, medical-grade oxygen (in other words, containing NO pollutants) can run through an electrical source (an ozone generator) to create medical-grade ozone.  Just like in the atmosphere, ozone acts as a strong oxidizing agent (similar to bleach, but without the toxic effects), easily breaking down cell membranes and eliminating bacteria, viruses, and fungi.  When exposed to human cells, it overwhelms the antioxidant capability of our dead and dying cells, breaking them down so our body can dispose of them.  At the same time, it provides more oxygen to our healthy cells, upregulating our immune response.  In essence, it kills the “bad stuff” and helps the “good stuff” function better.  And just like in the atmosphere, we avoid inhaling pure ozone gas because of its tendency to irritate the lungs.

Medical uses. Ozone can be used directly on human tissue, or injected internally for powerful healing effects.  It can also be bubbled through oil to create a healing salve or bubbled through water to create a disinfecting liquid that is safe to drink.  Many people will use nasal cannulas or ear pieces using ozone for sinus health, and some holistic practitioners will even ozonate patients’ blood directly for more complex or chronic infections. 

Dental uses. In our office, ozone is used in multiple ways.  We ozonate the water we use in all of our dental units so that any water that touches your mouth during your treatment or during your cleaning is ozonated water.  This protects our waterlines from bacterial contamination without using chlorine or chemicals, is beneficial for your oral health, and helps kill any pathogens that may be circulating in aerosols created by dental treatment.  Therapeutically, we apply ozone gas directly onto teeth to help kill cavity-causing bacteria and relieve tooth sensitivity.  We can apply the gas around the gumline and into the periodontal pockets to help treat gum disease and inflammation.  And we inject ozone into the soft tissue, or sometimes directly into the jaw bone, to help eliminate infection, stimulate healing, and encourage bone growth.  

Side effects. There are few drawbacks or limitations to medical ozone.  The first we’ve already discussed is the lung irritation from inhaling ozone gas.  We minimize this risk by using plenty of air circulation and suction when running the ozone generator.  When ozone is injected, there can be some burning at the injection site, but this typically only lasts for about a minute.  On occasion, some of our highly sensitive or chemically sensitive patients will feel the effects for longer.  But there are no known toxic or long-term negative effects to using ozone in a medical or dental setting. 

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