For Dr. Allen Sprinkle, his life as a dentist has been a journey that has led him down varied paths filled with experience and growth. Born in North Carolina, Dr. Sprinkle moved to Texas with his family at just seven years old. A graduate of Baylor College of Dentistry in 1971, Dr. Sprinkle started out on a traditional path operating a successful practice in Dallas. Over time, he and his wife became ready to start their family and felt that moving out of the big city would be best so the Dallas practice was sold and a smaller practice in Kilgore, Texas was purchased.
“In about 1980, I was struggling with back issues and the doctors advised that back surgery was going to be mandatory,” said Sprinkle. “Between continual back issues and an office remodel that led to the discovery of puddles of mercury under the carpet, I decided to leave the dental profession and pursue real estate.”
Dr. Sprinkle entered the real estate world and made a small fortune, however, over time with kids in college and bills to pay he found his way back to the dental profession. He was contacted by a colleague out of Highland Park, Texas about joining his practice and so he re- entered the profession but with a different mindset this time around.
In 1988 he began practicing biological dentistry and studying airway and sleep disorder dentistry. He became familiar with Dr. Janet Travell, MD in 1990, Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD in 1992, Dr. Yoshiaki Omura, MD in 1993 and Dr. Lee Cowden, MD in 1995. These powerhouse influences brought Dr. Sprinkle to a place of understanding just how important the role of dental issues can play on a person’s overall health and how certain accepted dental procedures can be detrimental to the patient.
“When you start out you just sit in the room listening to professors and think because they have a white coat on they must know what they are talking about. We were mixing mercury fillings in our hands, and the only preventative measures were brushing, flossing and fluoride,” said Dr. Sprinkle. “I feel so blessed that I was shown this other path. I love being able to work with patients on how their dental issues effect their overall health, help them identify toxins and remove them from the body as well as work with them on supplementation. It is so satisfying and I could never go back and practice the way I used to.”
On October 19 th , Dr. Sprinkle will share his expertise as our special guest on the monthly webinar. His topic, “Improving Lives with the Snip of the Tongue” promises to be both interesting and informative. He is also scheduled to speak at the November conference in Orlando where he hopes to encourage physicians and dentists to work together.
“The mouth is not separate,” said Dr. Sprinkle. “When doctors look at patients that have symptoms that aren’t going away or aren’t making sense they should look at their mouth. They should consider their tongue, past dry sockets, ear infections, tonsil issues, mercury in the mouth, root canals and gum disease. I plan to cover those topics at the conference as well as talk about the effects that airway has on the autonaumic nervous system, panic attacks, sleep and more.”
When Dr. Sprinkle isn’t working in his office or building a greater awareness of the connection between dental issues and overall health, he and his wife Sharna love to snow ski, ride motorcycles, fly fish, snow shoe, ride bicycles, play golf and enjoy their nine grandchildren. To learn more about Dr. Sprinkle, join us for the upcoming webinar and the conference in Orlando. For questions he can be reached on his cell at 817-980-3957 or check out his website at www.drsprinkle.com.