Practitioner Testimonial 2017 — No. 48

December 2017

Introduction to a presentation of Dentosophy, given by an Italian dentist at a conference in Turin in December 2017.

Early February 2013, I started attending my first Dentosophy course with Michel Montaud in Dieulefit, a small village in high Provence, without knowing exactly what was in store for me, driven by the curiosity to understand the things that were happening daily in the office. Indeed, next to my office, Marco's, patients would now leave with a smile and eyes full of hope... I thought... Marco is great, but we are still in a dental office.

These days spent in Dieulefit radically changed my life, not just professionally but beyond, because with today's knowledge, I can affirm that before, I had never truly seen.

From the very first moments, I had the impression of living an extraordinary circumstance that went far beyond satisfying my small curiosity. At that moment, I felt, as never before, that I was undoubtedly in the right place.

Michel, with his Dentosophy, which he humbly claims to have only received, woke me up. He awakened my consciousness from its torpor by demonstrating and asking me to experience in myself the link between the mouth and the human being, starting to shake what were then certainties for me.

He gave me the opportunity, starting from my mouth, to ask myself about the meaning of life, about the talents each of us possesses, about the meaning of health and illness, without imposing dogmas but by making me work and subsequently putting me on the path to find the answers within myself.

The definition of Dentosophy that Michel and friend have set up is as follows: a guided therapy, characterized by a humanistic approach to dental art, which is based on functional techniques and which puts into relation the link between the balance of the mouth, the balance of the human being, and more generally the balance of the world.

Finally, it was time for me, as well, to be able to see the human being who manifested and surrounded the mouths of my patients, to see them truly and to stop evaluating cases based on the observation of their defects, caries, misaligned teeth, lack of bone around the teeth that I, as a dentist, had had to treat with my protocols. With the same eyes, I had the possibility to see in these appearances all the lived experience, the often diminished strength of the person who asked for my help. By releasing a little the mouth from its obstacles, the patient himself could create over time the possibility to embark on his journey towards freedom.

Starting from me and with the constant help of my patients, I observed that every time we feel and see a dysbalance, we have all the potential to change our mode of functioning, starting from the mouth and our functions such as chewing, swallowing, breathing, which correspond to a mode of functioning of our psycho-affective sphere.

The engine of change lies in the will, which allows us to pass from the thought of wanting to change to action, realizing our potential.

What happened? I began to free myself from prejudices, fears, by rediscovering and stimulating my vital force and my self-healing powers. I savored for the first time the freedom in front of my own conditioning and the people around me, and also my growing autonomy and self-knowledge; I am more and more free and smiling. It is possible to live and transmit the will to experiment to those around me as well. After giving them a small germ, they will have the desire to let it mature without judgment, without hurry, living with amazement and welcome the daily arrival of new vital forces, new resources, and possibilities that we never thought we would receive.

And from there, today, my keywords for this path are:

• listening
• empathy
• will and action
• knowledge and responsibility
• trust
• gratitude
• love

Listening first of all to myself and to the other, not only my patients but also the family, friends, acquaintances, the other that I am.

Empathy that allows me to practice non-judgment

The will to act in a just world, with courage without reacting to solicitations.

Knowledge that each of us is responsible and not a victim of our life and our path.

Trust: even if today we can ask ourselves questions alone without having the answers yet, they will arrive when we are ready to receive them, knowing well that there is a project for us and for humanity that goes beyond our logic that we can understand and that, every day of the future, the forces of life come to guarantee us the necessary power to face all the surprises and difficulties that each new day brings.

Gratitude: because every day that arrives is a gift, an opportunity for us to evolve, however sometimes it can also pass through the experience of a deep pain.

Love: to recognize ourselves in the other, and together hold hands to live each day this state of grace, for us, for the other, and for the entire humanity.

And then, above all, I thank you all who chose to be here tonight and who, by practicing why not, are going to start this path here.

Marco will tell you about this path of freedom and love that we have had the gift to receive.

Thank you