Austin Dental Wellness - Joan Sefcik, DDS

06/24/2026

06/19/2026

About 1 in 4 people experience bruxism — so what even is it? It's the grinding and clenching of teeth, often during sleep, without you ever realizing it. Left untreated it can lead to tooth wear, jaw pain, headaches, and tooth sensitivity. Research also links elevated cortisol from chronic stress directly to it, and the grinding itself keeps those levels up.

Read more here:

Background/Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the global prevalence of sleep bruxism and awake bruxism in pediatric and adult populations. Methods: This systematic review was conducted by analyzing studies published from ...

06/17/2026

"Silver fillings" is doing a lot of heavy lifting as a name for something that's roughly 50% mercury by weight. A study published in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine found that adults with amalgam fillings had significantly higher blood mercury levels than those without, and that levels climbed with every additional filling. The researcher themselves called for efforts to reduce and eliminate amalgam use.

Most patients who receive amalgam fillings are never told the word "mercury" at their appointment. That's an informed consent problem. We don't place them. We don't think anyone should. And if you have them and want to talk through safe removal, that's exactly what we're here for.

Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/2xkvrb3s

06/12/2026

Apparently in the UK, there's a whole term for overly perfect American teeth: "turkey teeth." It's showing up on Tinder bios as a dealbreaker. One guy said he couldn't focus during a pitch call because of the "fluorescent white teeth staring back at him."
Meanwhile in Japan slightly crooked teeth are considered charming, and people actually pay to look less perfect. Humans are so wildly different and we love that for us

Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/2knw8shr

If someone says you have "turkey teeth," it's not a good thing.

06/10/2026

So the 9th Circuit just vacated the landmark fluoride ruling — and notably, they didn't disagree with the science. Just sent it back on procedural grounds.

Utah and Florida have already ended water fluoridation. EPA and RFK Jr. are running parallel safety reviews. We've been saying this for a while. Glad the conversation is catching up.

More info here: https://tinyurl.com/282neysp

06/07/2026

A five-year follow-up study found that patients who had their amalgam fillings removed reported significant long-term reductions in health complaints — and those with the highest mercury levels before removal tended to see the greatest improvement.

More research is needed to confirm the mechanisms, but the pattern is worth paying attention to.


Read more here:

Removal of amalgam restorations was followed by a long term reduction of general health complaints, which was associated with mercury concentration in urine before amalgam removal. Additional studies are needed to confirm the potential mechanisms for the observed reduction.

06/04/2026

Somehow "silver filling" became the industry standard name for a material that is roughly 50% mercury. The EU looked into it and banned them in 2025. We're not saying anything, we're just saying.

We've been mercury-free for a long time and we're proud of it.

05/29/2026

05/27/2026

Taking “girl dinner” to the next level: whole-body health edition.
Protein, healthy fats, hydration, minerals, and nervous system support can go a long way. Wellness doesn’t have to be perfect, just supportive.

05/19/2026

More from the IABDM on claims about graphene oxide in common dental anesthetics, with an expert reviewing the data and drawing conclusions from the most current research...

There has been much scrutiny over whether dental anesthetics may contain graphene oxide. The IABDM's Executive Director Dr. Dawn Ewing interviews an expert ...