Book excerpt: A unique exploration of how dental health connects to holistic health, with a 40-day meal plan and long-lasting dietary guidelines that are easily integrable into everyday life Throughout the years, dental health has often been characterized as a reflection of our overall health, where bad oral health results from issues with other parts of our body. But what if we flipped the paradigm? What if we thought about dental health as the foundation for our physical health as a whole? Dr. Steven Lin, an experienced dentist and the world’s first dental nutritionist, has analyzed our ancestral traditions, epigenetics, gut health, and the microbiome in order to develop food-based principles for a literal top-down holistic health approach. Merging dental and nutritional science, Dr. Lin lays out the dietary program that can help ensure you won’t need dental fillings or cholesterol medications —and give you the resources to raise kids who develop naturally straight teeth. With our mouth as the gatekeeper of our gut, keeping our oral microbiome balanced will create a healthy body through a healthy mouth. Dr. Lin arms you with a 40-day meal plan, complete with the Dental Diet food pyramid, exercises for the mouth, recipes, and cooking techniques to help you easily and successfully implement his techniques into your everyday life. The tools to improve overall wellness levels and reverse disease are closer than we think—in our markets, in our pantries, and, most frequently, in our mouths.