Zero Percent Ribbon

Ozone Therapy


“Doc, I just hate the needle and the drill! Isn’t there another way to fix my cavities?”

Dr. Alfe is one of only 300 dental practitioners world-wide who are trained in the use of ozone therapy.

Our answer used to be no, but now there is a revolutionary way to treat dental decay and gum disease without the needle and the drill! You read that right! Ozone therapy is the amazing answer to so many people’s concerns about dental work.

Ozone therapy may be right for you if you:

  • Hate the needle
  • Hate the drill
  • Want to avoid invasive dental work
  • Want to conserve your natural tooth structure
  • Have been told you have “biting surface” cavities on some of your back teeth
  • Have been told you have a cavity, but it’s going to be “watched” and you want to be more proactive in your dental care
  • Have root sensitivity from receding gums
  • Want to avoid painful gum treatments
  • Want to avoid gum surgery
  • Are constantly plagued by cold sores, canker sores, or herpes outbreaks in your mouth or on your lips
  • Suffer from mouth sores or fungal overgrowths because of medications you take or a suppressed immune system
  • Crave a natural approach to treating your dental disease

DIAGNOdent cavity detecting laser

Not all cavities can be treated with Ozone. The best candidates are the small ones that occur on the biting surfaces of your back teeth, in those groovy areas. Using her DIAGNOdent cavity detecting laser, Dr. Alfe can catch cavities while they are still small and can often prevent her patients from needing fillings on those teeth.

The most recent studies have shown that if your dentist is only using the “pick” and xrays to check for these cavities, up to 75% of cavities are not being caught in time. This is because for people who grew up with fluoridated water and then used fluoride toothpaste, the outer layer of the tooth (the enamel) is so strong that it doesn’t break down like it used to. As dentists, we can’t just rely on a soft spot, or “catch”, on the tooth surface to diagnose a cavity. Those grooves on the back teeth are not fused-they’re more like a trough-and so the bacteria hides far down, beyond the tip of the dental instrument. By the time the dentist can feel the decay that’s formed, there has usually already been quite a bit of tooth destruction.

Ozone is anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal so it sterilizes your tooth and kills the bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Dr. Alfe uses Ozone gas (which is basically “super oxygen”) along with remineralization liquids and pastes to disinfect your tooth cavities and allow your body to heal the lesion. Then the remineralization liquids and pastes pull the calcium salts out of your saliva and deposit them into the sterilized area. This allows the tooth to literally heal itself. Most patients require two treatments, about a month apart. They are quick (5-10 minutes on average), painless and simple.

You then take MI paste (a specialized paste that helps your tooth heal) home with you, and apply it morning and night, when you are usually brushing your teeth. On your second visit, Dr. Alfe retreats the areas with Ozone and if the tooth is now healthy (checked with the DIAGNOdent), applies a dental sealant to keep offending bacteria out of the area. Our sealants, like our dental fillings, are all BPA-free. Dr. Alfe is striving to have a whole generation of patients who may never have to experience the needle or the drill!

Ozone therapy is also used to painlessly and conservatively treat gum disease, infected periodontal pockets and can often help patients avoid gum surgery, if treated early enough. Ozone kills the bacteria that cause gum disease and root sensitivity. Most patients who suffer from root sensitivity as a result of gum recession have also found ozone treatments to decrease and sometimes eliminate their pain.

The anti-viral capability of Ozone makes it a great option for patients who suffer from frequent cold sores, canker sores, or herpes outbreaks. Treating these areas at the first sign of an outbreak can lessen the severity of the outbreak as well as the duration. Patients who have had multiple treatments have reported fewer outbreaks, reduced pain with each outbreak, as well as a shorter duration.

Finally, many patients are on medications that wreak havoc with their immune system, or are immuno-compromised because of an illness. Fungal overgrowths are common if the balance of good and bad bacteria is disrupted, allowing mouth fungi to thrive unchecked. Ozone can destroy the offending fungi, restoring the patient’s health and comfort.

If you think Ozone may be an option for you, or you’d just like to learn more about it, call or email Chicago Smile Spa today, and we would be happy to give you more information or have you come in for a complimentary consultation to see if Ozone therapy is right for you.