Phase One of the Huggins-Grube Protocol

Phase One of the Huggins-Grube Protocol

Last week’s post was a general introduction to the Huggins-Grube Protocol. You’ll remember that’s what we call the specially developed patient protection procedure we use in our work of dental revision.

Now it’s time to dive into the different phases of the Protocol. When you take a long trip, you plan the details beforehand, right? Well, the Protocol is no different. In fact, think of it like a journey from illness to wellness. So, let’s begin with Phase One.

Phase One: Before the Revision Work

There are actually many different steps involved in this first part of the Protocol. However, I don’t want to overload you with too much information. So, I’m only going to talk briefly about the first three steps.

Education

This is really important. If you are well enough, you need to get educated on the topic of dental toxicity. I strongly encourage you to read Dr. Huggins’ book, It’s All In Your Head. It’s like the “magna carta” of biological dentistry. Then, if you have time, continue with Uninformed Consent. Both are available for purchase in the Resources section of www.hugnet.com.

Interview

Once you are familiar with the protocol, it’s time to interview a dentist – and other therapists – to see if you can assemble an adequate team to do the treatment you’ve chosen. If you can get to northeast Pennsylvania, then our staff can take care of this. Otherwise, we can put you in touch with another biological dentist nearer your hometown.

Examination

Once you’re at the dental office, you can expect a thorough dental examination. It will include both both hard and soft tissue evaluation: that is, teeth and gums, as well as areas of the neck. X-rays will be taken in order to locate: 

• decayed, dead, or missing teeth
• cavitations
• defective fillings
• root canals

Models of your teeth may be taken at this time in order to evaluate your “bite.” These also may be used in the laboratory to fabricate replacements for any missing teeth that might need to be removed during subsequent procedures.

Whew! Not a bad start, right? Since the examination is pretty comprehensive, I’m going to save the rest of it for next week’s post. For now, you’ve got a good idea of how important it is to plan well any dental revision you are considering.  And, as I said in last week’s post, you can see what a big part a patient plays in his or her healing!

Until next week,

Dr. Blanche