The past week or so I've been experiencing pain in my upper jaw and the side of my face. I attributed it to a cavity, or worse yet, a tooth infection.
Last night it hit a wonderful crescendo, and I woke at about 4 in exquisite pain. Today I talked to a a bunch of people, and the majority recommended the same practice downtown.

I'm not proud to admit this, but it's been about 10 years since my last visit to the dentist. I'm not afraid of the dentist, it's just been financial and a lack of self motivation.

When I got down town, I noted that within a 2km stretch there were at least 12 dental clinics. The one I was directed to? "The British Dental Clinic".

I know, I know, "What do the british know about dentistry!?" I was skeptical as well, but they came highly recommended. Since it was an "emergency" visit, the dental surgeon didn't do a comprehensive visit.

To my credit, he was completely in disbelief that it'd been ten years since my l last visit. Beyond some staining from soda/tea/cigarettes, a little build up, he said, and I quote "Your teeth are in marvelous condition". He then went on to caveat that the normal stuff applied, I needed to floss more, and my gums could be healthier.

The x-rays showed nothing of interest, so he then went through the entire process of examining my teeth. He couldn't find anything that he felt could be the source of my pain, but he did find a modest cavity and "the start of a cavity".

Then he treated the cavity. No drill, no filling.
Ozone. I'm not even kidding. Honestly, if he'd told me what he intended to do, I would have probably thanked him and left. He had a machine that applied (via a small rubber boot) a localized treatment of Ozone. After two ten second bursts, he explained the issue.

According to him, ozone kills the bacteria that make a cavity work. The treatment is straightforward, you clean away the crap, leaving solid tooth behind (albeit pitted), blast it with ozone to kill the bacteria, then start on a "re-mineralization" regime. Apparently, the historic treatment is to scrape the crap out, drill the surface layers away (effectively removing the bacteria), then fill it in to prevent further attack on the mineral deficient tooth, also preventing food and crap from building up in the pit.

According to him, many cavities can be "naturally repaired" by simply killing bacteria and re-mineralizing.

After getting home and googling around a bit, there appears to be a ring of truth to it all, however it's not noted as a procedure that has been thoroughly evaluated for soundness. The skeptic in me says chicanery, but there is some logic to it all.

I do have a follow up appointment for the normal stuff (cleaning, etc etc etc). If I am uncomfortable with it, he said that a more traditional treatment is available (drill + filling), but due to the location (behind the last molar on my upper row) it would require time and cutting away at some of the gum to drill and fill.

And it turns out that I likely have an ear infection (seriously), so a bit of anti-biotics and I will be right as rain.

So what do you think, internets? Quackery or modern science?