Following is my “About me” page on my website which I thought would be good starting point to introduce myself. You can also find me on Instagram @tduymaz .
“Hello,
I created this website to share the knowledge I have gleaned from reading about functional / holistic medicine, which has grown in popularity in our country in recent years, and to connect with others who are striving to take charge of their own health.
During my readings, I came across biological dentistry and began to see the role of dentistry in our overall health, and both the way I work and the content of the site began to shift. Therefore, you can find here articles on both whole body health and functional medicine as well as on how oral health has an impact on our overall health.
Let me briefly describe my educational background and professional experience. After earning my dental degree from Marmara University’s Faculty of Dentistry in 2006, I began working for myself. The mechanized nature of our work began to annoy me after five years of working as a general dentist, and I wasn’t intellectually content. I was not aware of the actual worth of my activities as a dentist, despite the fact that I was aware that oral illnesses in general could worsen the development of many systemic diseases. At that time, I was also ignorant of many of the biological dentistry-related topics. For example, although I never placed amalgam fillings, I did not know that I had to take precautions while removing it. I did not feel the need to question what was taught in dental school on subjects like fluoride, cavity prevention, toxic materials, etc.
Almost every topic in science has always attracted me. One of my long-standing interests was the brain and how it worked. During this period where I was disappointed with my job and was searching for a better cause for my life, I came across the “Cognitive Science” Msc. program at Boğaziçi University. Since I could not apply here as a dentist, I thought of entering a department where I could at least take courses on the subject by taking the university entrance exam once again. I got into the Department of Western Languages and Literatures at Boğaziçi University. Since a versatile education was supported here, I was able to take courses that I was interested in such as “Psychology”, “Neuroscience”, “Brain and Language”. During this period, I was still running my dental office, but shortly after I decided to take a break.
After 3 years at Bogazici University, I left in 2013 after my daughter’s birth. While I was researching how I should introduce new foods to my daughter’s diet, I came across the information that Hasimato’s disease which I was diagnosed with years before, could be healed by diet and life style changes. I also have had vitiligo and I realized that they are all connected and the root causes may even pave the way for a third autoimmune disease! I then started a gluten-free diet first, then had an intolerance testing, then I tried different diets, I used supplements, etc.… Then I realized that it’s not just about removing some foods and taking some vitamins. Hidden infections in the body, toxic heavy metal burden, sleep, stress, sunlight, breathing are all a part of the equation. There were many layers to work on.
By that time, I had started to work as a dentist again, but I still had not fully met biological dentistry yet.
Then we moved to Plovdiv, Bulgaria for about 2 years because of my husband’s job, where I found the chance to totally focus on my well-being. It was the time I started writing my website. Meanwhile, in Turkey functional medicine was still too little known and Turkish sources were very limited or superficial. Owing to my website and social media, I met many new people with similar interests.
It was also during this period that I got to know biological dentistry better and took the first steps for the changes I will make when I return. I started doing research on many subjects such as amalgam fillings, toxicity, ceramic implants, cavitations, oral microbiome, teeth with root canal treatment, etc.
I got many good results in my own health by the help of functional medicine. I have made a great improvement in my vitiligo lesions that should not heal according to classical medicine. My thyroid antibodies dropped and I managed to reduce the amount of thyroid medication I needed.My energy and motivation have increased. I got rid of many ailments such as rosacea, bloating, sinusitis, depression, headaches, weakness and irritability, which reduced my quality of life.
In early 2018 after returning to Turkey, I adopted a purely biological dentistry approach. I was the first dentist in Turkey to remove amalgam fillings with 100% compliance with the SMART protocol. I became one of the first practitioners in Turkey who use ceramic implants as part of my biological dentistry approach. I started to attend international congresses and courses in order to learn more about different applications of biological dentistry. Now I look at my profession very differently because I feel that I can be more beneficial for my patients.
Even though I am inevitably a “practitioner” who still does fillings and implants -ceramic ones:)-, my main goal is to contribute to a better understanding that oral health is the gateway to your overall health and we cannot stop chronic disease without solving the problems in the mouth first."
