This is the first step in commencing naturopathic care with me. Essentially it is a free, short naturopathic consultation via telehealth. It is an opportunity to meet, answer any pressing questions or concerns prior to an initial consultation and to ensure that I am the appropriate practitioner for you.

This call is for any new clients who are curious about why their dental problems aren’t resolving with dental care alone and what naturopathy can offer.

During your initial consultation, we will discuss your health in detail including: personal medical history, family history, diet and lifestyle.

Naturopaths differ to general practitioners in that we have 60 minutes to spend together, rather than 5-15 minutes. This allows a much deeper exploration into important areas of your health such as: gut and digestive function, symptoms of inflammation, hormonal and nervous system issues as well as how your body metabolises food.

No stone goes unturned in order to determine the underlying cause of your oral health (or other) symptoms. You will not be dismissed, told that you are imagining things, or told that a troubling symptom is ‘normal’.

My goal for the initial consultation is to create a comprehensive understanding of your health. This allows us to ‘connect the dots’ and form a plan for treatment.

Usually by the end of the first consultation, I have a good idea of what is going on for you - and you will leave with a better understanding of how different areas of your health are affecting your teeth and gums (and any other symptoms you are experiencing elsewhere)

Return consultations are generally offered at monthly intervals to monitor progress and adjust the treatment plan as required. They are an opportunity to stay accountable, ask questions and overcome any obstacles that come up.

Clinical naturopaths are trained in the interpretation of functional medicine testing as well as in routine pathology.

The common adage is ‘test, don’t guess.’ Testing allows us to fill any informational gaps, confirm or rule out potential diagnoses and to form a baseline which future progress can be measured against. It can help to save time and money during treatment - for example; testing your zinc levels can help to determine whether a supplement is necessary to address a deficiency. Testing the oral microbiome can help to determine which bacteria may be causing your gum disease and which herbs or probiotics have the most evidence behind their use for that specific bacterial species.

Below you will find more information on the common functional medicine tests that I use in my clinic, the price, and how the results help to shed light on the causes of cavities, gum disease and bad breath.

I currently utilise the Nutripath Oral Microbiome Mapping (test code 2200) in my clinic to understand the bacterial drivers of cavities, gingivitis, gum disease and bad breath.

Emerging evidence links oral infections to chronic inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and even Alzheimer’s dementia.

Understanding which bacteria dominate your mouth can make or break the success of your dental treatment. This is because different bacterial species will thrive in different environmental conditions - the pH of your saliva, sugar intake, hormone fluctuations, stress and inflammation levels all affect which bacteria survive and which bloom into overgrowth (infection) Different species will also cohabitate and cooperate in order to colonise the mouth together.

All the mechanical dental treatment in the world (cleaning, scale and root plane, flossing, brushing, even periodontal surgery) will not resolve the environmental factors that allowed the infection to take root in your mouth (high blood sugar, inflammation, poor immunity, hormonal drivers etc)

Testing the oral microbiome allows us to choose the herbs or nutrients that are most specific to that bacteria for the most efficient treatment. It also provides insight into the environmental influences that need to be addressed in order to create a healthy home for your teeth and gums.

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Lastly, the oral microbiome map can show whether there are healthy numbers of the beneficial probiotic bacteria needed to sustain a healthy mouth.

At the time of writing, the Nutripath Oral Microbiome Mapping is $192 AUD including test, postage and collection fees.

Gut microbiome profiling is a valuable tool for understanding how well your gut is digesting food, the integrity of your gut lining (assessing for intestinal permeability - also known as leaky gut syndrome) and for taking a snapshot of your gut microbes - the bacteria, viruses, candida, parasites and worms that live in your large intestine.

The Nutripath Complete Microbiome Mapping (test code 2206) is an at-home stool test available to my clients for investigating the health and function of their gut.

Digestive health is almost always implicated in the health issues that present further afield. We must remember that the mouth is actually the start of the gastrointestinal tract, and that the teeth and gums make up a significant part of the digestive process - chewing food is the first stage of digestion. The saliva contains enzymes that assist with the breakdown of food. Bacteria and other microbes that are swallowed will travel through the gut. The tissue in the mouth is also semi-permeable and can absorb nutrients but also medications and toxins directly into the bloodstream, similar to the lining of the intestine.

As the mouth and lower regions of the gut are so intimately connected, it is reasonable to assume that infections in the mouth are a canary in the coalmine for gut microbiome imbalances further down, and that inflammation in the lining of the gut will be mirrored in the gums and often the skin. This has been reflected in my own clinical experience and that of my colleagues and mentors.

Investigating and treating the gut can help to resolve systemic inflammation, prevent reinfection, aid in immune system function, improve nutrient absorption and ensure proper detoxification and clearance of hormones that affect oral health and healing.

The Nutripath Complete Microbiome Mapping test is $426 AUD including test, postage and collection fees at the time of writing June 2026.

Dried Urine Hormone testing (DUTCH) analyses the urine for over thirty different hormones and their metabolites in order to assess hormone production but also detoxification and excretion.

Fluctuations of both sex and stress hormones affect the balance of bacteria in the mouth but also the gut, vagina and skin.

Clients who are experiencing chronic or recurring infections (gum disease, oral thrush, pregnancy gingivitis for example) can benefit from investigating and supporting hormone balance.

Sometimes dramatic hormonal changes during high stress periods, puberty, pregnancy, lactation and menopause (or andropause in men) can fuel serious changes to the oral environment and oral microbiome. If your dental issues began or worsened in correlation with a major hormonal change, the DUTCH test can be a good way to untangle what’s going on.

The DUTCH test is an at-home urine test and is available by referral for $430 AUD at the time of writing (June 2026)

Blood testing is often used by general practitioners in their assessment of your health - you tell them the problem, they order the test, they tell you that everything looks normal and send you home.

But you’re still tired, you still catch every cold going around and you still have bad breath or a sore back or whatever other symptom you went in there to get help with.

Laboratories print reference ranges on their pathology results using data gathered from testing the unwell and those experiencing disease. There is no nuance for age, biological sex or ethnicity. Put plainly, the ranges are based on what is commonly seen, not necessarily what is healthy or optimal functioning.

Your ferritin (stored iron) level for example may fall at the bottom end of normal, which is low enough to affect you personally, but not so low that you’re blatantly deficient. Most GP’s aren’t going to feel confident in prescribing anything or even truly understanding the result in relationship to your iron regulation, oxygen transport and day to day health.

Naturopaths can read routine pathology results in the context of what is optimal (not what is common, or ‘normal’ in an increasingly unhealthy population)

Perhaps the most glaring example is in the testing of fasting insulin. Insulin is the hormone that regulates the use of sugar (glucose) by your cells. This is needed because the sugar must be used and not allowed to stay high in the bloodstream (high blood glucose is inflammatory) A high fasting insulin shows that your body needs to work extremely hard to get that sugar into use and to keep your blood glucose at a normal level. Many laboratories consider a fasting insulin level of 3-21 mU/L as ‘normal’. Any number under 21 mU/L and you’re doing fine. Naturopaths want to see fasting insulin between 3-5 mU/L to represent healthy blood sugar control. Any higher and we need to be improving insulin sensitivity to reduce the risk of Type II diabetes. General practitioners may not be alarmed until you are in a full diabetic or pre-diabetic state.

Uncontrolled blood sugar is a major driver of inflammatory oral health conditions such as gum disease - you don’t need to be diabetic to benefit from insulin and blood sugar support. Most dentists and doctors won’t know to tell you that it is a two way street - gum disease can worsen insulin resistance, and insulin resistance will worsen gum disease.

Even the most basic, normal looking blood test results can be an information gold mine when read by the right eyes.

Naturopaths are positioned perfectly to address misunderstandings around your routine pathology results and to provide nutritional and herbal recommendations which complement your dental treatment.

I can provide a second opinion on blood testing that you have had done before, or suggest relevant tests to be ordered either privately or through a willing GP.

Blood tests relevant in the treatment of cavities, bad breath and gum disease:

• Inflammatory markers (CRP/ESR)

• White blood cell count (WBC)

• Vitamin D status (25-OH)

• Serum sex hormones

• Fasting insulin

• Fasting blood glucose

• Thyroid hormones & thyroid antibodies

• Nutrients such as zinc, B12, iron, calcium, magnesium and more