Dr Gys De Necker

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that most people, myself included, have Dentophobia – or a fear of dentists. From a young age, we’re coerced to sit in a dentist’s chair, and have our mouth’s wrenched open, as our nervous systems retract from the high-pitched frequencies – akin to nails on a chalk-board – as invasive objects assault and pierce our soft tissues. If our masticating muscles weren’t turned to jelly with odours that make one want gag, I’m sure most of us would instruct our canines to bite these foreign fingers breaking & entering – and THEN give our best smile!

The proverbial ‘visit’ to the dentist, is anything but friendly, it’s been known to test one’s pain threshold to the limits, induce emotional trauma, leave one dazed and confused, and even produce adult-tears – not to mention the fact that it leaves a huge cavity in one’s bank account. So we pretty much vow to never go back…until the next emergency ‘visit’.

Unfortunately, I’ve personally been on a major dental journey for a number of years now. What started off as an abscess led me down a rabbit-hole that brought me to my knees. From attempting to avoid root canal treatment with natural interventions, to eventual tooth extraction, to systemic inflammation to vertigo, to headaches and constant jaw, neck and shoulder pain.

That is until I met Dr Gys De Necker. 

He’s not your typical dentist – he’s a God send…

And someone I actually look forward to seeing – relatively speaking – because he’s shifted my understanding, my opinion and my experience of dentistry from one of distaste to amazement – especially at how the jaw and by extension the bite determines one’s state of either symbiosis or dysbiosis with the body.

This is the nature of Holistic Dentistry.

Dr. Gys De Necker has been in private practice for over 4 decades. His practice, De Necker Dentistry, which spans 3 cities in SA, JHB, CT, and George is a holistic model that actively practices metal-free dentistry, as well as TMJ corrective bite rebuilding, orthodontic devices and facial analysis. He incorporates pilates, and cranio-sacral interventions as part of his protocol towards TMJ rehabilitation.

He’s a member of the international Organisation for metal toxicology. And is very involved in the treatment of Tempero Mandibular Dysfunction & Facial Pain; is a member of the British Society for the Study of Cranio-Mandibular Disorders or TMD (the jaw) – and is continuously attending courses around the world on TMD and Orthodontic Rehabilitation.

I believe this conversation will help you make sense of so many of your past dental experiences as well as educate you into making more informed decisions regarding future dental interventions for you and your loved ones. I hope that you’ll also realize that whatever is going on in your mouth, influences all your systems – from musculoskeletal, to digestive, to lymphatic, to your mental and emotional bodies and more – so you’ll need to harness a team of healing practitioners that speak the same language to come back into true alignment.

A quick head’s up:

• The 2D skeletal model of the TMJ, Gys refers to in the podcast, is shown as a reference here and on our instagram.
• This podcast was recorded on a trip to Johannesburg with non-optimal recording conditions – gorilla-style if you will – which my brilliant sound engineers have meticulously attempted to fine-tune. The content however is so important that, I hope it will eclipse any unavoidable background noises.
• Any supplements mentioned are not affiliated to the show, or endorsed one way or another.
• Gys’ mother-tongue is Afrikaans.

Instagram:
@deneckerdentistry