What is a holistic dentist?
Holistic dentistry is not one of the 12 dental specialties the ADA's National Commission recognizes — a holistic dentist is a licensed general dentist.
The word describes an approach, not a credential. The ADA's National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards states that there are currently 12 recognized dental specialties: dental anesthesiology, dental public health, endodontics, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral medicine, orofacial pain, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics and prosthodontics. Holistic dentistry is not among them, and neither is biological, naturopathic or functional dentistry. Someone practising under any of those labels is a dentist licensed by their state board in exactly the same way as the practice next door.
Source: ADA National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards
This page explains what a term means and what different professional bodies publish about it. It is general information, not dental advice, and it does not tell anyone what treatment to have. Talk to a licensed dentist about your own mouth.
That the National Commission has not recognised something is not the same as saying it does not exist or should not be practised — the Commission's own page says as much, noting that not all areas in dentistry will satisfy its requirements for recognition, and that the public and the profession benefit substantially when non-specialty groups develop areas of interest through education, practice and research. What it does mean, practically, is that there is no board examination behind the word and no single body that defines it. Two practices using the label can work very differently.
Source: ADA National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards
What the holistic associations say it means
The Holistic Dental Association describes its philosophy in one line: "Holistic involves an awareness of dental care as it relates to the entire person." It frames its approach as an inter-disciplinary one that facilitates the individual's innate ability to heal, and its stated job is giving practitioners and patients information to make informed choices. It is a membership association with a searchable member directory, open to licensed dentists, hygienists, dental staff and practitioners from other health-care fields — a membership, in other words, not a certification of clinical scope.
Source: Holistic Dental Association
The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology publishes the more concrete artifact: a written protocol for removing existing mercury amalgam fillings, which it calls the Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique, or SMART. The IAOMT states that its protocol recommendations were most recently updated on July 19, 2019, that it has developed safety recommendations covering protective measures during the procedure, and that it runs a certification course dentists complete before listing SMART certification in its directory. If a practice tells you it removes amalgam "safely", this is usually the protocol it means.
Source: IAOMT
Holistic, biological, naturopathic, functional — is there a difference?
In practice these are the same word. No recognised body defines any of them, so no boundary between them can be checked, and searching for one term surfaces practices describing themselves with another. Rather than guess at a distinction nobody publishes, look at what the practice actually offers and what it is a member of.
| Term you searched | What it usually signals | How to check it |
|---|---|---|
| Holistic dentist | The broadest label — whole-person framing, often mercury-free materials | Ask which associations the practice belongs to; the HDA lists members publicly |
| Biological dentist | Often used by practices oriented around materials and amalgam removal | Ask whether the dentist is IAOMT SMART certified, which is a published programme |
| Naturopathic / homeopathic dentist | The same framing borrowed from naturopathic medicine | The dentist is still licensed by the state dental board — verify there, as with any dentist |
| Functional dentist | Borrowed from functional medicine; airway and sleep are common emphases | Ask which specific services are meant; the word does not name any |
Sources: Holistic Dental Association, IAOMT, ADA National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards
Mercury fillings: the one place the published positions clearly differ
Amalgam is the subject a holistic or biological practice is most likely to raise, and it is the subject where the federal position and the association position are furthest apart — so here are both, in their own words. The FDA states that dental amalgam is roughly half elemental mercury by weight, that it releases low levels of mercury vapour, and that while the available evidence does not show that exposure from dental amalgam leads to adverse health effects in the general population, exposure may pose a greater risk to certain groups: pregnant women and their developing fetuses, women planning to become pregnant, nursing women and their infants, children (especially under six), people with pre-existing neurological disease, people with impaired kidney function, and people with a known allergy to mercury or the other metals in amalgam.
On removal the FDA is direct: "the FDA does not recommend that you have your amalgam fillings removed or replaced. Removing intact amalgam fillings results in unnecessary loss of healthy tooth structure and exposes you to a temporary increase in mercury vapor released during the removal process." It adds that intact fillings in any individual, including the sensitive groups above, should not be removed to prevent a disease or health condition unless a health-care professional considers it medically necessary, and that someone with a relevant health condition may discuss removal with their dentist or physician.
The IAOMT's position is that where amalgam is removed, the removal itself needs protective measures, which is what SMART sets out. Worth knowing, because it is the point the two positions actually converge on: the IAOMT states that it does not recommend amalgam filling removal for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding, and does not recommend that dental personnel who are pregnant or breast-feeding carry out work that disrupts amalgam fillings.
Source: IAOMT
Both published positions agree on one thing: pregnancy is not the time to have amalgam removed. Where they differ is whether intact fillings should come out at all.
What to verify before you book
- The licence. Every dentist using these labels is licensed by a state dental board, and every state board publishes a licence lookup. That check is the same one you would run on any dentist.
- Which association, if any. The HDA publishes a member directory and the IAOMT publishes a SMART certification directory. "Holistic" on a website is a description; a listing in one of those is a fact you can look up.
- What is actually offered, service by service. Because the word is not defined by any body, the practice's own service list is the only reliable description of what you will get.
- How the visit is billed. Dental plans pay by procedure code. Ask which codes will be submitted and which parts of the visit fall outside them, before you sit in the chair.
If root canals are the reason this term came up, the specific question has its own page: what holistic dentists do instead of root canals.
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Questions people ask next
- Is a holistic dentist a real dentist?
- Yes. A holistic dentist holds the same state dental licence as any other dentist. What the word does not carry is specialty recognition: the ADA's National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards recognises 12 dental specialties and holistic dentistry is not one of them, so there is no board certification behind the term.
- What is the difference between a holistic dentist and a biological dentist?
- There is no published definition of either, so there is no boundary anyone can check. In practice the terms are used interchangeably, though "biological" is more often used by practices oriented around filling materials and amalgam removal. The checkable difference is membership: the Holistic Dental Association lists its members, and the IAOMT lists dentists certified in its SMART amalgam-removal protocol.
- Do holistic dentists use fluoride?
- Some do and some do not, and no association speaks for all of them, so this is a question for the individual practice rather than one with a general answer. Ask directly what the practice uses and what it offers as an alternative, and ask a licensed dentist about your own situation — this page does not give dental advice.
- Should I have my amalgam fillings removed?
- That is a decision for you and a licensed dentist, and the two published positions differ. The FDA states that it "does not recommend that you have your amalgam fillings removed or replaced", noting the loss of healthy tooth structure and a temporary increase in mercury vapour during removal, unless a health-care professional considers it medically necessary. The IAOMT publishes a protective protocol for removals that do happen, and states it does not recommend removal for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.
- Is a holistic dentist covered by insurance?
- We are not going to answer that from memory. Dental plans pay by procedure code rather than by a practice's philosophy, so the practical move is to ask which codes the practice will submit and check those with your plan. We looked for a published coverage rule specific to holistic practices and did not find one we could read first-hand, so there is no figure here to quote.
Written for patients by Most Recommended Dentists, which measures which dentists AI assistants actually recommend in 23 U.S. metros. Nobody can pay to be on those lists. How we measure.