Why Your Brain Is Important In Dentistry

– By Dr Nav Ropra. 

Having wellness of mind, body and spirit is essential if you want to build a sucessful practice and foundation for your life. The 3 most powerful keys in life are; wisdom of the mind, gratitude and love of the heart and inspiration of the spirit.  Our life is governed by how well our brains function, so it is essential that they are functioning at maximum performance.

In this second article, we provide more tips and suggestions on how to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of your brain.

Here are some more powerful tips that can help you to fulfil your dreams and keep your brain and you on purpose;

11.  Vitamin D level

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone.  It has an essential part in the absorption of calcium and phosphate.  In recent studies, vitamin D has exhibited an association of nerve growth factor synthesis.  This is responsible for the growth and survival of neurones.  Low levels of vitamin D can lead to neuropsychiatric disorders like epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia.  Try getting out of the practice during lunchtimes and getting some sunshine.

 12.  Sugar intake and level

The problem with eating sugar is that it stimulates the reward centres of the brain so that you constantly want more – just like drugs or alcohol.  If you ever had brain fog during a meeting or when with a patient, it is probably because of sugar and more than likely because of what you may have eaten at lunchtime.  This can cause free radicals to form in the brain’s membranes leading to compromising nerve cell’s ability to communicate.  The knock on effect of this could be that we don’t remember things properly, cannot process things efficiently or cannot handle our moods.  Eliminating processed sugars from your diet will reduce the brain glue that comes from eating them.

13.  Long term stress

The flight, fight, freeze or flee mechanism which is essential for our survival and part of evolution was not designed to form part of everyday life.  It causes the increase in a hormone called cortisol which can be harmful for the brain.  Long term chronic stress can lead to an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.  Relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, prayer, deep breathing, Qi gong, Tai chi all help in reducing stress.  Increasing your time frames will put things into perspective and reduce stress.

14.  Untreated depression

Research has shown that in depressed people, the part of the brain responsible for processing long term memory and recollection called the hippocampus is smaller.  Depression can suppress the production of new nerve cells in the hippocampus.  Depression can also affect the amygdala which affects emotions such as pleasure, anger, sorrow, fear etc, it can affect the anterior cingulate responsible for dealing with conflicts and the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for executing tasks and planning.  If you are comparing your life with a fantasy idea of what you thought your life should have been like, or comparing yourself with others, then that can cause you to become depressed.

15.  Poor decisions

When we make poor decisions that we end up regretting, then this can affect the future activity of the brain.  The areas most affected are: the anterior cingulate cortex, medial orbitofrontal region and the hippocampus.  Too many choices and the brain overheats and you lose the ability to effectively decide.  Making decisions which are in line with your highest values will enhance and activate your brain to achieving its maximum potential.  A decision is only poor if it goes against your values, or if you did not learn from the feedback the decision gave you.

16.  Poor diet

The saying ‘garbage in, garbage out’ for the body is the same for the brain.  If you eat unhealthy food, not only does it affect your body, it also affects your brain.  Eat healthy high quality proteins and carbohydrates with a low glycemic index and glycemic load, and ensure you eat high fibre foods.  Supplement these if necessary with vitamins and minerals.   Eat from the colours of the rainbow to give variety and flavour.

17.  Unhealthy peer group

Especially in new environments we just want people to like us and we can end up emotionally sacrificing ourselves just to fit in.  Having an unhealthy peer group causing you to suppress who you are is not a wise idea.  Better to change it or spend time alone with yourself than become associated with people who occupy time and space in your mind in an unhealthy way.  Having to treat patients who you dislike, is unwise and can lead to complaints from them when you feel constrained around them.  It is wise to refer those patients to someone else who can start afresh with them which will help you reduce your stress levels.

18.  Laughter

They say that laughter is the best medicine as it stretches the muscles in our faces.  It also helps increase the oxygen levels to our tissues as breathing and heart rates increase and it brings back the bounce and step in our lives. It can help increase the immune system and decrease blood sugar levels by burning off more calories.   If you have pain in the body and laugh, then the chances are that you will forget the pain for a short while.  Laughter stimulates several areas of the brain simultaneously so it is essential to keeping these pathways healthy and functional.  The ability to laugh at oneself shows maturity and deep insight into ones own life.  A kind of non-seriousness to life.

19.  Diaphragmatic breathing

The brain is very sensitive to oxygen levels and if these drop, it can die within 4 minutes.  Deep breathing helps to eliminate waste products from the body like carbon dioxide which can cause you to feel panicked and stressed.  Diaphragmatic breathing helps by you being in direct and conscious control of your breathing.  It allows the basal ganglia of the brain to calm down.  This area controls anxiety.   Diaphragmatic breathing allows your brain to run more efficiently, relaxes your muscles, regulates your heartbeat and warms up your hands.  So, if you are feeling a little stressed out around patients, remember to breath deeply, prior to, or during examining them or treating them.

20.  Attitude of gratitude

Gratitude is the future of dentistry and the practitioner who is grateful for their patients, their practice and their profession will be one who is growing.  Brain neurophysiology has shown that gratitude increases reinforcement for the things in life we are grateful for and helps us to be more focused by engaging the vast power centres the brain has.

The brain’s ‘reward centre’ lights up when we become grateful and it will help you be more congruent, confident and certain in life.  It also helps regulate the fields of energy that surround the heart so that your body mind and spirit are aligned and you are at maximal performance.

 (The first part can be found here: http://www.drropra.com/brain-important-dentistry/)