She Hadn’t Had a Clear Thought in Decades
One hidden dental infection was driving her brain fog, her pain, and her sleep
A Moment with Dr. Stillman
If you’re the one managing everyone’s health in your family and you still feel like “a slug that can’t keep her eyes open” by the time you sit down for lunch or coffee with friends, then this story is for you.
One of my patients used those exact words. This was her level of energy for decades.
She’s married, with grown children, and spends much of her time dealing with her family property and caring for her elderly mother. There’s plenty of family drama that goes along with that, so even though she’s an “empty nester,” her life is far from simple and stress-free. She needs to have the energy to keep up with her husband, her dogs, and the needs of her family.
I take care of a lot of women in this position - in or past menopause, still juggling lots of responsibilities, and not sure how to manage it all when they need an afternoon nap or can’t peel themselves up off the couch after dinner.
What She Was Living With
For decades, her brain would not work the way she needed it to:
Brain fog so heavy she called herself “a slug”
Fatigue so severe that just thinking about exercise wore her out
Waking up in pain about an hour after falling asleep, night after night
Food getting stuck in her digestion for hours at a time
When I asked when her brain last worked well, her answer was “decades”
If this sounds familiar, you know where she was.
What We Did Differently
She needed significant dental work - more than just one visit.
I said, “go to the biological dentist now.”
They found an abscess and pulled that tooth as soon as possible.
Within 30 minutes of the tooth extraction, she was doing crossword puzzles again.
Her exact words: “My mind actually works. Like it works. I couldn’t believe it.”
Not everyone feels a change this quickly, but in her case, removing that constant infection was like releasing the parking brake on her brain function.
What else did we do? We added the appropriate doses of thyroid and ovarian hormones (progesterone and estrogen to start), personalized minerals, and she’s avoiding foods she tested positive to in allergy testing.
Where She Is Now
She’s doing better and better. Here’s what she shared in a recent visit:
Pain was waking her up nightly before, but now: “I haven’t noticed the pain...”
Digestion was slow and sluggish, but now: “I can tell a big difference. The food doesn’t get stuck like it does otherwise.”
She’s able to walk all the way across the yard, when before she had to take a break. She even had a lawn chair positioned half-way through the yard so she could rest.
My favorite question, “On a scale of 1-10, with zero being where we started and ten being where you would like to be, where are you now?” She’s at 5/10 now, after just a few months.
I’m so excited to see her making progress after years of feeling so tired.
Things to Think About
Dental problems and derail your health entirely. A simple “bad tooth” can turn into fatigue, brain fog, crippling headaches, and even full-blown inflammatory conditions requiring aggressive treatment.
Keeping your teeth clean, healthy, and intact is half the battle for the health of the rest of your body.
A dental abscess is not “just a toothache.” It is a constant, low‑grade infection sitting inches from your brain.
Here’s what we often find in cases like this:
Standard labs can look “fine” and falsely reassure patients that “it’s just stress” or that they “just need a little more rest.”
The right prescriptions and personalized supplements can help, but they can’t overcome a rotten tooth.
If the teeth are bad enough, systemic problems arise.
Where to Go From Here
I always refer to dentists from the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. If you’ve got dental issues and join our practice, I’ll be sure to send you to one of them for a thorough evaluation. Many of them will insist that you work with someone like me, because they realize the power of working together as a team, not just in isolation.
If you’d like our help to reclaim and optimize your health, join one of our programs here: https://stillmanmd.link/program
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Until next time, be well,
Dr. Stillman
Educational content only. Not medical advice. See full disclaimers.