Health Center » Healthy Dentistry

There is a world of difference between a medical doctor saying you only have a few months to live and a dentist explaining that you will soon lose all of your teeth. For most people, the possibility of losing even one tooth is a horrifying thought. Some even have nightmares about their teeth falling out. Although accidents and the resultant injuries to our mouths and teeth can't always be prevented, we can, in most cases, prevent loosening of teeth from other factors.

 

Before presenting some basic, natural ideas and remedies which may help improve resistance to degeneration of the supporting, periodontal tissue surrounding the teeth--the gingiva or gums, the periodontal membrane or ligament, and the alveolar bone--let us define "periodontal disease", "pyorrhea", and "scurvy".
"Periodontal disease" is a generalized term depicting a condition in the mouth in which there is a loss of bone surrounding the teeth. Of the varying degrees of periodontal disease, in the incipient stage there may be a slight amount of alveolar bone loss around some teeth with no loose teeth. Sometimes the gingiva or gums are inflamed, with or without pain or swelling. Gingivitis is the condition in which the gingiva are red, inflamed, and bleed easily during tooth brushing. In the next, more advanced stage, the recession of the gingival tissue at times exposes a small portion of the root of one or more teeth, and a slight amount of tooth mobility may be noticed. In the most serious stage, the loose, spreading teeth have pus pockets around them with bleeding gingiva. This is periodontal disease, and it is not a very pretty picture.

 

"Pyorrhea" is the antiquated term used over fifty years ago by dentists before the more sonorous phase "periodontal disease" was coined. Considered the etymological derivation of pyorrhea: Gr.Puo--pus; Gr.rrhoea--a flowing. The common usage of this is more presently parochial. It now specifically focuses on the gums.
The last ugly word, "scurvy", sounds like a dirty, foul-mouthed pirate with a peg leg and a parrot on his shoulder. Actually scurvy is periodontal disease caused, exacerbated or triggered off primarily by the lack of dietary Vitamin C and responds dramatically to Vitamin C or an increased consumption of citrus fruits. British sailors of bygone eras took limes on board and were thereby dubbed "Limeys".

 

It is my contention that periodontal disease is a combination of one or more degenerative processes, as well as infective and secondary infective processes. Periodontal disease has occasionally been treated in part by antibiotics--usually tetracyclines, a broad-spectrum class of antibiotics that kill both gram negative and gram-positive bacteria. If this antibiotic kills bacteria present mainly in a periodontally compromised mouth, the patient should experience temporary beneficial effects. However, what if the tetracycline kills all or most of the bacteria that normally prevent candida albicans from overgrowing? It then becomes a tradeoff of a local, oral disease for a possibly systemic, digestive tract disease. If a candida infection or a predisposition for a yeast infection exists, the misdiagnosed or, even worse, undiagnosed condition of systemic candidiases may create havoc for years to come. And if, as I believe, periodontal disease is a degenerative disease, I would never organize a quest to discover a virus and/or bacterium that could be the main cause.

 

I recall the frustration I experienced about twenty-five years ago when a patient of mine with the most beautiful, spotless, immaculate teeth with no cavities or fillings began losing them one by one. He had no inflammation or infections, and he brushed day and night. The periodontist to whom I referred him said there was nothing he could do to save the patient's teeth, and he didn't know why this was happening either.

 

Although none of us have all the answers, may more factors are known nowadays. If a patient accumulates plaque or food film which is not all brushed and flossed away, it will clarify to form a hard, tenacious material called "calculus." Fifty years ago calculus was termed "tartar." If the calculus remains at the neck of a tooth too long, it will start to migrate very slowly under the gingiva. The longer the concrescence is left on the tooth, the further down the side of the root it will migrate. As the calculus presses on the gingival tissues, the gingiva becomes inflamed, creating a localized gingivitis or bacterial infection of the gums. As capillaries bring the bacteria-fighting blood cells to area, chemicals and toxins are released, and the alveolar bone, the bone around the teeth, starts dissolving. When, over several years, enough bone is resorbed, a tooth or teeth may loosen and be lost.

 

Heredity is another contributing factor for periodontal disease. If one's parents wear complete dentures, had loose teeth, and experienced bleeding gums for years, the impeding disease must be nipped in the bud by strengthening the weak mouth before it degenerates beyond control.

 

Poor or inadequate nutrition is a very much under stressed cause of periodontal disease. About seventy-five years ago, Dr. Weston Price, a dentist, drew a poignant correlation between nutrition and the incidence of crooked, loose, and decayed teeth in children. In his monumental text, "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" he documented his visitations to tribesmen and aborigines the world over. Photographing the native's teeth and bodies and then revisiting them ten years later, again photographing the identical families, he documented the occurrence of new conditions in many mouths: malocclusions or crooked teeth in some children and many natives with rampant tooth decay, missing teeth, and bleeding gums. What had happened? After conducting a thorough investigation, Dr. Price learned that some of the primitive and unspoiled tribesmen had visited a nearby "civilized" mainland or metropolis where refined carbohydrates--sugar, candy, cakes, cookies, dry cereals, white bread, white rice, spaghetti, soda, and the like were available and consumed.

 

One main group of predisposing factors never considered by doctors is stress related oral habit. In my common sense approach to discovering etiologies or causes, I suggest the investigation of physical, repetitive, direct force stimuli to the teeth and their surrounding supporting tissues. Grinding your teeth at night, bruxism, or clenching your teeth during the day will obviously transmit a large amount of force to the enamel as well as the periodontium--the periodontal ligaments, gingiva, and alveolar bone. This stress related factor was probably the main cause of the previously cited patient's periodontal problem since his teeth were immaculate. What about biting your nails, opening bobby pins with your teeth, holding nails or pins between your teeth, holding a pipe between your teeth, biting your lips or cheek, sucking your thumb or fingers, and smoking cigarettes or cigars, to name a few! If practiced chronically, these habits may contribute to bone loss and the eventual loosening of the teeth.

 

Oral habits unrelated to stress can be broken. Included among these are incorrect swallowing, speech impediments such as lisping, playing oral instruments, and mouth breathing.

 

Let us consider the first example, incorrect swallowing. We swallow subconsciously about twice a minute when awake and once a minute when asleep. If the tip and sides of the tongue press against the teeth instead of the hard palate each time we swallow, over a pound of pressure could be exerted against your teeth each time you swallow. Multiplying one pound of pressure by about 2000 subconscious swallows, you are placing over 2000 pounds of intermittent pressure against your teeth in a 24-hour period, the same type of intermittent pressure braces produce when Orthodontist attempt to move, tip, and straighten your teeth! When teeth are tipped, the bone in front of the teeth dissolves slightly to make room for the tooth root. If this pressure is uncontrolled or unmonitored, the tipping from swallowing incorrectly or bruxism may dissolve the alveolar bone too rapidly to allow deposition of more bone in the area where a posterior void was created as the tooth moved forward.  (For more information see my article “Swallow this.”)

 

Speech impediments, though unrelated to stress, may strain the integrity of the alveolar bone surrounding the teeth. If, for example, someone lisps, they usually dentalize the consonants "t", "d", "l", and "n". As a result, the tongue presses either right against the upper or lower teeth when words containing those letters are pronounced, or the tongue may touch and press both the upper and lower teeth simultaneously while endeavoring to push or thrust between the upper and lower teeth.

 

Playing oral musical instruments may create havoc on tooth alignment, eventually initiating the development of other oral habits and creating a tendency for teeth to shift or even loosen. If this particular oral function is the sole source of one's livelihood, it is probably an impossible habit to break.

 

Lastly, in considering the many etiological theories of mouth breathing, deviated septum, sinus conditions, food or drug allergies, and heredity, I'm not sure which came first, the mouth breathing habit or the congested obstructed nasal passageways. Mouth breathing obviously permits the direct entrance of dust particles, carrying allergenic excrements of mites into our lungs. In normal breathing, the nasal cilia prevents those dust-laden particles from entering our respiratory passages, possibly preventing asthma or allergies. When opening your mouth even slightly, you will notice your tongue drop down, following your lower jaw. Since you swallow subconsciously at least once a minute day and night, your tongue will not be able to move up to your palate or roof of the mouth if you swallow with your mouth open before you start to swallow. Your tongue will then have a natural tendency to push against your lower or upper teeth as you complete the swallowing act. Thus, in mouth breathing, the tongue changes position and becomes a contributing factor in the weakening of teeth.

 

Turning our attention to the nutritional tie-in with periodontal disease, I would like to begin with the original protocol of supplementation that Carlton Fredericks, Ph.D.--a world renowned nutritionist on radio for more than 40 years--had devised in the 1970's. He recommended calcium orotate, which is the form of the mineral calcium that is utilized best in the cells. He included vitamin C with bioflavinoids preferring the use of a time released vitamin C. Large amounts of cod liver oil were on his list to act as a vehicle for transporting the calcium into the cells from the blood. An obvious suggestion of a medium of high protein and low refined carbohydrate diet would enhance the anabolic process in any and all cells of the body, including the alveolar bone surrounding the teeth. The last nutrient my mentor, Carlton Fredericks, include was riboflavin.
More recently, I have learned about a number of other nutrients, which have been reported to help people with periodontal disease. They include natural substances like calendua, propolis, garlic, Tea Tree oil, liquid protein, and co-enzyme Q10.

 

Calendula is an extract from the marigold plant that, in a non-alcoholic solution, oftentimes helps heal gingival inflammation, canker sores, cold sores, sore throats, or any other mucous membrane irritations. It is useful after periodontal surgery, deep gingival curettage and tooth extractions.
Propolis is useful as a tincture, as an oral supplement or as chewable chips. It has anti-infective properties, whereas calendula has hemostatic healing effects. Propolis is synthesized by bees, which deposit this gelatinous material on any foreign body or insect entering their hive. It is reported that their use of propolis is the reason.

 

Garlic the poor man's antibiotic in some Third World nations, is very helpful for periodontal disease sufferers. Imagine irrigating deep periodontal pockets around your teeth with liquid garlic. Liquid garlic will kill almost every pathogen; however, the resulting mouth odor may be a deterrent in its use.

 

Garlic supplements are, of course, much more acceptable than chewing raw garlic or putting garlic through a juice extractor. Aside from its anti-infective property; garlic may be analgesic in some specific periodontal disease situations. If, for example, there is bone missing down the side of a tooth to the very root tip, the live nerve entering the root tip may be exposed through this side channel. If liquid garlic can reach down the bony defect where the inflamed and painful nerve enters the tooth, the cleansing antiseptic properly of the garlic may relieve some tooth pain or referred pain. If a viscous propolis tincture is applied subsequently to coat the garlic there may be further insulating and antibiotic effects.

 

One of the most recent natural antibiotic was discovered and first used is Australia. Oil is derived from their indigenous Tea Tree (Melaluca alternifolia). It has AMA (American Medical Association) accepted anti-fungal properties and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval. It helps cold sores, muscular and arthritic pains, congestion and periodontal disease.

 

Complementary or holistic physicians and dentists are primarily seeking etiologies instead of symptoms. We also try to use common sense when diagnosing and treating. As a result we become inventive and use natural cleansing and anabolic methods for strengthening our patients' weaknesses. Just as the marigold plant extract called calendula cleanses, promotes healing, and stops bleeding in involved periodontal tissues, so can the free amino acids in liquid protein be used to help protein build up in degenerated periodontal ligaments and the surrounding soft tissues in deep pockets around loose, weak, non-infected teeth.
The accepted terms for the connector between the bone surrounding the tooth and the tooth is the "periodontal membrane." The periodontal membrane is composed largely of ligamentous fibers; thus, the term "periodontal ligament" is used interchangeably with "periodontal membrane." Although calcium, magnesium, zinc, and essential fatty acids are some of the most important factors for alveolar bone formation, manganese is one of the most important factors in ligament health and integrity.

 

I have intentionally left the mentioning if co-enzyme Q10 for last. It is one of the few nutrients known for its beneficial effects for periodontal disease by conventional medical doctors. Sublingual lozenges work best. Co-enzyme Q10 is an important factor in the biochemical pathway in cellular respiration. This, in turn, will insure that more energy will be available in each cell for enhanced function. As a result, there is noticeable strengthening of alveolar bone cells surrounding the teeth, with a greatly diminished tendency for degeneration or dissolution of that bone. Some people feel that this supplement not only prevents teeth from loosening more but may also tighten them in some instances.

 

Although there are no panaceas in periodontal disease treatments, and surgery may be beneficial at times, I feel conservative treatments are worthwhile considering.

 

This article in no way recommends that you avoid seeing a periodontist if your teeth are loose or if they have a predisposition of eventual loosening. It rather presents some basic, natural ideas and remedies which may help improve resistance to degeneration of the supporting periodontal tissues: the gingiva or gums, the periodontal membrane or ligament, and the alveolar bone.

 

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