Dr. Minaxi Mirkal, owner of Prime Integrative Dentistry, was raised in Mumbai, India, where she studied dentistry and worked with an oral surgeon before moving to the United States in 2007. She received her doctor of dental surgery degree from University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Two weeks before graduation in 2012, she gave birth to her daughter, and as a new mom, discovered a holistic lifestyle, which she incorporates into her dentistry practice.

“My baby and I both did well while I was home, but after I had gone back to work, my daughter started getting ear infections, and I had chronic pain and always felt tired,” Mirkal recalls. “I did not recuperate fully from child birth. Back pains made it hard to sit for long working hours. I started looking at ways to deal with pain and began reading about alkaline diets.”

Mirkal incorporated more alkaline-based foods into her diet to support her body’s pH balance and noticed her health and energy improve. She was practicing traditional dentistry at the time for a public health clinic in western Massachusetts and had the opportunity to join a biological practice where she learned more about the mouth-body connection, the potential dangers of mercury amalgam fillings and natural ways to fight periodontal disease. “I was blown away by what I saw and thought this is how dentistry had to be practiced,” she says.

After moving to Texas in 2014, Mirkal worked for another holistic dentistry practice, and then took a sabbatical to determine her next career step. She noticed there weren’t many associate positions available in the Dallas area for holistic dentists, so she took a leap and opened Prime Integrative Dentistry in March.

Mirkal is also a naturopathic doctor and a member of the International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology. With an emphasis on whole body health, she spends two hours with each new patient looking at diet, lifestyle and supplements before she even looks at their teeth. “Any health symptoms a patient has could be related to the mouth. It’s a scavenger hunt—you keep the whole body in mind, not just the teeth,” she notes.

Oral health affects gut health, so Mirkal checks patients’ pH balance using a saliva test and talks about maintaining an acid-alkaline balance. “Most people who come to us already lead holistic lifestyles—but if they’re eating acidic—even though it’s healthy, organic food, they might still get cavities and have digestive problems.”

Misalignment of the teeth can cause problems with the jaws, resulting in sleep apnea, headaches and neck aches. “When you build a house, you put the pillars and beams first, similarly, your jaw and bone structure is the foundation. Then you bring in furniture—the tongue, teeth and everything else,” she explains. “A holistic dentist always starts with looking at the jaw first; how it’s grown, the muscle function and ultimately, the teeth, because teeth reveal how the muscle functions and how the jaw is set. This is a paradigm shift from what conventional dentistry teaches—to start first with teeth.”

Mirkal also looks at metals in the mouth from amalgam fillings or root canals that could be causing health issues. Although root canals are common in traditional dentistry, Mirkal will try other options first, such as ozone treatments to kill bad bacteria, fungus and parasites, and clean out infections. Mirkal firmly believes that every person should have all their options, including root canals, explained in detail. She also specializes in infant and adult frenectomy, a procedure that releases the frenum under the tongue, upper lip or cheek to allow for better range of motion.

Mirkal says business has been brisk since opening Prime Integrative Dentistry; a testament to how much people desire natural solutions and connect oral health with whole body wellness. People called her office before she even opened, expressing interest. “It has been an amazing experience,” she enthuses.

 

Prime Integrative Dentistry is located at 3821 Long Prairie Rd., Ste. 200, in Flower Mound. For more information, call 972-885-9191 or visit TexasHolisticDentist.com.