Toxicity from Dentistry



Toxic Effects of Dentistry Introduction
Oral Galvanism
Toxicity from Root Canals
Unhealed Extraction Site
Fluorides Explored
Acupuncture in Dentistry
FAQS Questions Regarding Toxicity in Dentistry



Early in my career as a dentist, it became obvious to me that the condition of
the teeth in particular, and the health of the mouth in general, had to be
connected to the overall health of the body. While this may seem like simple
common sense to you, the reader, it remains to this day a radical idea in the
world of dentistry. Other than warning of the dangers of excess sugar
consumption in causing dental caries, most dentists (and certainly their
professional dental organizations) do not proceed to make the logical
connection between dental health and nutrition. I was fortunate in that my
meeting with Adelle Davis, as recounted in Chapter 1, turned my head around
about the importance of nutrition. From then on, I sought newer and better ways
to incorporate nutritional work into my dental practice, and I began to devote
one day each week to nutritional counseling for my dental patients. I explored
numerous ways of assessing the state of the health of the body, particularly
focusing on urinalysis, as the urine offers an easily accessible window into
the complex world of our own biochemistry. This work led me, over time, to
discover George Watson's research into the Oxidative system, and I used this
model for about ten years before Bill Wolcott introduced me to the integrated
system of Metabolic Typing that we have been exploring together in this book.
When I decided to retire from my dental practice, I devoted myself to my
nutritional work, in what was originally intended to be a part-time endeavor,
which has since blossomed into a full-time preoccupation.



During the course of my dental career, I also became aware of the toxic nature
of many of the procedures that we dentists and our patients normally take for
granted. I am indebted to the pioneering and courageous work of several leaders
in this field, including George Meinig, D.D.S., Hal Huggins, D.D.S., and my
long-time friend Doug Cook, D.D.S. These men have had, to varying degrees, to
fend off less-than-good-natured challenges from their more closed-minded
colleagues and the very conventional state dental boards and national
organizations. It often comes as a shock to lay people to hear that many health
problems can be caused inadvertently by traditional dentistry. What I am about
to discuss will probably be new to most of you, although some of you will have
some knowledge on this subject. We will be discussing toxic metals, such as
mercury and nickel, oral galvanism, possible toxic effects from root canals,
cavitational problems from previous extraction sites, fluoridation, and,
finally, the role of acupuncture in dentistry.



Mercury and Nickel Toxicity

A "silver" amalgam composition, or filling, consists of 50% mercury and 50%
silver filings, to which small and varying amounts of tin, copper, and zinc may
be added. The two main substances are triturated, or mixed together, into a
mass that hardens in a short period of time. The widespread use of silver
amalgams started in the mid 1800s. Since that time, there has been an ongoing
controversy about the toxic nature of mercury, and the appropriateness of it's
use as a dental restorative material. Because of growing public awareness of
its dangers, the use mercury for industrial purposes has waned. It is
interesting to note that G. Agricola (in De Re Metallica) warned of the dangers
of mercury pollution as long ago as 1556 (1).



Dental toxicity from mercury has been a highly inflammatory issue for the last
one hundred and fifty years. In fact, the term quackery — which is often
indiscriminately applied to alternative health practitioners by their more
conventional colleagues — was originally used in the 19th century to describe
dentists who used the new silver amalgams, to the amazement of their more
rational colleagues who were well aware of their dangers. However, over time,
the quacks took over newly formed the American Dental Association (ADA), and
their quackery became standard practice. It has been the contention of the
American Dental Association (ADA) that, once the amalgamation (or
solidification of the amalgam) took place, there could be no leakage of mercury
vapors from the filling. However, a landmark research project by Svare et al in
1981 succeeded in documenting the release of mercury vapors upon chewing (2).
Even this did not phase the ADA, and their revised contention is that the
amount of leakage is so small it  has no ill effects on the tissues of the
body.



However, another landmark study was conducted by Vimy, Takahashi, and
Lorscheider of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary, in Canada.
They placed twelve radioactive silver amalgam fillings in five ewes. Each sheep
was mated, and both ewe and fetus were monitored. Absorption of mercury into
the fetus commenced on day two after placement of the amalgams in the ewes. The
highest concentrations of mercury in the adult sheep occurred in the kidney and
liver, with substantial levels also present in the endocrine glands, oral
tissues, stomach, and respiratory tract (3). This research project has been
hailed worldwide for it's meticulous documentation of mercury transmission from
dental amalgams to distant parts of the body, but the ADA still refuses to
accept its validity.



In 1984, I conducted before-and-after immune panels on twenty-nine patients
with mercury and nickel restorations. Not only did the immune panels improve in
most of these cases after the removal of the mercury and nickel, but various
symptomatic health problems also improved dramatically. My report on this study
was published in three different alternative medicine journals (4). I would
like to discuss two of those cases.



The first was a sixteen year-old boy with exostosis, an abnormal growth of the
bone. His father explained that the young man needed to have surgical
procedures to free up his legs and arms every six months; he also said that the
doctors did not expect him to live past the age of  twenty one. After hearing
one of my public lectures on the hazards of mercury fillings, the father asked
me if there was any possibility that mercury could be affecting his son's
condition. I told him that mercury typically lowers the lymphocyte (white blood
cell) count and this, in turn, reduces the levels of T-lymphocytes (T-cells),
special white blood cells produced by the thymus gland that are essential for
the proper functioning of the immune system. I explained to him that having the
mercury fillings replaced would almost certainly improve immune functioning,
and that this could only be beneficial.



He brought his son to see me and, upon examination, we found eight relatively
small mercury fillings. We had an immune panel test performed by
ImmunoDiagnostic Laboratories (IDL), and this panel showed an extremely
compromised immune system. We removed the eight mercury fillings and replaced
them with composite restorations. Six months later, we ran another immune
panel, and the change for the better was astronomical. The father called me a
year later and told me that his son did not need any more surgeries, and he was
doing just great; he called me again the following year to report on his son's
continued good progress. He told me that the young man would probably live to
be eighty or ninety, just like the rest of us.



The results of  his immune panel were as follows:



                       Before Mercury Removal                     After
Mercury Removal

                       Total Lymphocytes             2146                    
     3515

                       Total T-Cells             1759                        
 2988

                       Total T4s                    751                      
     1933

                       Total T8s                    944                      
     1195



You do not need a degree in immunology to see the sizable increase in all these
numbers after the removal of the mercury fillings. The T4s are helper cells,
providing a supportive function for other immune cells, while the T8s are
cytotoxic killer cells, which destroy damaged tissues. There should be roughly
twice as many T4s as T8s, but in this situation it was reversed, with more T8s
that T4s. The immune weakness was due to a lack of T-4's. This suggested an
autoimmune problem, a situation characterized by an excess of one type of
immune cell at the expense of another. The young man's disease condition
completely reversed itself after the mercury fillings were replaced.



The next patient was a forty-eight year old female who had had breast cancer
and a subsequent mastectomy five years before. I discovered that she had seven
nickel crowns in her mouth, so I explained to her that nickel was carcinogenic,
and suggested that they should be replaced with gold. She was agreeable to
this, and an immune panel was taken, which revealed a slightly compromised
immune system. Six months after I replaced the nickel crowns with gold
replacements, we ran another immune panel test.



                       Before Nickel Removal                     After Nickel
Removal

                       Total Lymphocytes             2046                    
     3450

                       Total T-Cells             1575                        
 2691

                       Total T4s                  1043                        
  1518

                       Total T8s                    572                      
     1069



Her total immune system strengthened substantially after the nickel was
removed. You will notice in this profile that the T8s nearly doubled, while the
T4s increased by 50%. Diseases characterized by a low T8 count include cancer,
multiple sclerosis (MS), and lupus. There is a very real possibility that, if
this patient had the stronger immune system shown in the second column, she
might have never contracted cancer, or, if she had, that her immune system
might have been more effective in destroying it.



I would like to describe two other immune related case histories that were
published in the American Journal of Prosthodontia in the early 1980s (5). The
first was a young lady in her early twenties with seven mercury amalgam
fillings. An immune panel was conducted to check her T-lymphocyte count before
the removal of any amalgam fillings. The immune panel showed that 48% of her
total lymphocytes were T-lymphocytes, whereas the optimal number should be 80%.
The mercury fillings were removed and filled with temporary plastics. After
waiting thirty days, another immune panel was taken. The T-lymphocyte count had
gone up to 80%. Her dentist then embedded four small mercury fillings in the
lower plastic restorations. These fillings never touched the tooth structure.
Another immune panel was run thirty days later, and the T- lymphocyte count had
dropped down to 53%. All the temporary plastic and amalgam fillings were then
removed, and permanent gold fillings were put in their place. Then, thirty days
later, yet another immune panel was taken. This one showed that the
T-lymphocyte count had once again climbed back up to 80%. This very powerful
research, conducted by David Eggleston, D.D.S. of the University of Southern
California, clearly shows that our immune system can indeed be strongly
negatively impacted by mercury fillings, and that the body is capable of
reversing the compromised immunity once the mercury is removed (5).



Another interesting case history relates to a young lady who checked herself
into a university hospital suffering from a kidney ailment. The doctors
diagnosed her as having glomerulonephritis, a potentially fatal inflammation of
the kidneys, which they termed idiopathic (of unknown cause) as they  could not
find the causative factor. As the weeks went by, her condition became worse.
They discussed the possibility of a kidney transplant to keep her alive. One of
the doctors suggested she should have an electromagnetic allergy test performed
to see if an allergy might be responsible for her condition. She did indeed
show a severe reaction to nickel, and was asked if she had had any dental work
performed recently. She replied that she had had two porcelain-to-metal crowns
put in six months ago. Sure enough, the metal under the porcelain turned out to
be nickel. She immediately had the crowns removed, and seven days later the
symptoms of her nephritis disappeared. A kidney transplant was not necessary
and she totally recovered (6). How often does this kind of situation occur in
today's world? Until the profligate use of mercury and nickel is curtailed,
scenarios like this will continue to baffle physicians and cause unnecessary
suffering in those unfortunate enough to be sensitive to these toxic metals.



Oral Galvanism

The next area of dental toxicity that I wish to review is oral galvanism. Oral
galvanism is the difference of electrical potential created by two or more
dissimilar metals in the mouth, or even by a single metal that conflicts with
the body's own bioelectrical currents. Other names for oral galvanism are
galvanic mouth currents, "mouth battery", and metal tension fields. All
regulating events in the human body are communicated by electrical charges.
Therefore, any conflicting electrical charges that emanate from dissimilar
metals in the oral cavity create an imbalance that can lead to pathogenicity.
In other words, the electrical currents created by the metals used in fillings
and root canals can conflict both with each other and with the body's own
electrical system, leading to blockages and interferences in the body's own
bioelectrical currents. We were not born with such galvanic charges in our
mouths; they are purely man-made. Our immediate concern should be to identify
the nature of this problem and to stop using incompatible metals in the mouth.



Further toxic fallout comes from the dissemination of non-precious metal ions
(atoms that carry an electrical charge) to distant areas of the body. Various
fluids in the mouth — saliva, bone fluid, and dentinal plasma — act as
conductors for electrolytes (minerals that dissolve in a fluid medium into
electrically charged ions). Whenever a non-precious metal post is placed in a
root canal for reinforcement, or an amalgam buildup is installed, or a gold
crown constructed as a final restoration, measurable electrical currents
emanate from that tooth. This leads to a disruption of the body's own internal
electrical currents, which in turn has a negative impact on the functioning of
the immune system, rendering us more vulnerable to inflammation and infection
elsewhere in the body. Imagine the foci of infection and toxicity that can
indirectly result from this "battery effect" in the mouth, silently permeating
the body, and causing untold damage and ill health. This problem is exacerbated
by using different metals in the mouth, as they cross-react with one another.
For example, even more galvanic currents will be created if a gold crown is
installed, followed by a non-precious metal partial (a removable bridge) that
contacts this gold crown. Unfortunately the brain does not pick up and
neutralize these currents in the mouth, and so the spiral continues. I would
estimate that between four and five million Americans suffer from this
scenario. Couple this with fifty to sixty million Americans running around with
mercury amalgams, and another twenty million with porcelain-to-nickel crowns,
and what do you have? The set-up for a lot of degenerative diseases in the
making. It is far preferable for only one metal ever to  be used in the mouth,
gold being the most desirable choice as it does not readily oxidize.



You might ask, if all I have discussed is true, why hasn't organized dentistry
picked up on this? Perhaps the two biggest reasons, which are closely
connected, are fear and money. The fear comes from the many possible lawsuits
that might occur if organized dentistry finally admitted that mercury in
amalgams and other dental metals were toxic to humans. The official dental
organizations have defended that position for so long that an about-face might
open up a can of worms. The other reason is money. A dentist with a spouse,
three children, a home mortgage, two cars, a dog and a cat has to have a steady
income. If such a dentist were to deviate from mainline policies and practices,
he or she might be faced with the very real possibility of reprisals from the
state dental board. The possibility of a costly lawsuit or the loss of one's
license are very real threats, and such a scenario did indeed devour many of my
colleagues. It obviously behooves the enlightened spirit to be not so outwardly
enlightened, for fear of such reprisals!



I myself understand this situation all too well. The dental board visited my
office on three occasions warning me of my failure to abide by the code of
ethics, due to my refusal to toe the conventional dental line. These were
weightless claims which merely served as a subtle form of harassment. Later the
American Medical Association (AMA) secretary visited me to inform me that I was
practicing medicine without a license. He told me that the dental board had
supplied the AMA with information about my nutritional testing protocols, and
that the AMA had deemed that I was treating cancers, kidney disease, etc.,
which went beyond the scope of my dental license. In fact, this was totally
erroneous, as I was simply offering nutritional advice to my dental patients,
and my dental license did indeed authorize me to practice nutrition. They told
me if I ceased performing nutritional testing, they would drop their plans for
taking away my dental license. I could ill afford to lose my license at that
time, so I agreed to stop practicing nutrition for three years. This enabled me
to get my house in order to prepare for my retirement. When the three years
were up, I once again started performing nutritional testing. At this point I
no longer fear any reprisals, as I am now only practicing nutrition, not
dentistry, and so my license to practice dentistry has become inconsequential.
I tell you this story to reiterate how difficult it is to be an enlightened
spirit in a structured, inflexible, and dogmatic profession. One would like to
believe that the dispassionate spirit of scientific inquiry would govern such
matters, but all too often entrenched power interests overpower the very
scientific point of view that they were originally intended to uphold. To quote
Albert Einstein: "great spirits often encounter violent opposition from
mediocre minds".



Where does organized dentistry stand today on the issue of oral galvanism? The
ADA has a similar position as on mercury amalgams. Although the scientific
literature abounds with references to the problems caused by galvanic currents
in the mouth, the powers that be are content to sit on their hands in the hopes
that these findings will somehow go away. It is difficult to fight city hall;
so even with technological advances and our growing knowledge of the problems
of toxicity, fewer and fewer dentists are opting to travel the enlightened
path. The progressive, holistic (or biological) dentist is between a rock and a
hard place, but it is ultimately you, the patient, who is being short-changed.



Root Canals

Next we turn our attention to root canals as a possible source of toxicity.
Approximately twenty five million Americans undergo root canal therapy every
year in an effort to prevent the loss of teeth that have become abscessed. The
root canal refers to the central portion of the tooth, a canal that houses the
nerve and blood vessels. During a root canal procedure, the dentist endeavors
to clean and sterilize this canal, and then fill it in with a sterile,
non-toxic, inert material. This usually renders this tooth serviceable and no
longer painful.



The bulk of the tooth is made up of dentin, a material harder than bone, which
is laced with a very large number of dentinal tubules. These tubules, or tiny
tubes, facilitate the circulation of lymphatic fluid from the central root
canal through the dentin, and out though the cementum (the outer membrane
encasing the root of the tooth below the gum line) to the bone and gum tissue
outside of the tooth. This is a viable circulatory system designed to service
the root canal itself, its nerve network ,and the periodontal ligament (gum and
bone tissue) surrounding the tooth. If the body chemistry is healthy, the
lymphatic fluid flows properly from the root canal through the dentin to the
surrounding tissue, creating an irrigation system that serves to prevent an
accumulation of plaque from forming around the root of the tooth. However, if
the body chemistry is imbalanced, then the circulation can reverse, with lymph
flowing from the outside of the tooth, through the cementum, and into the inner
root canal — rather than out from it. This prevents proper irrigation,
leading to an accumulation of plaque.



There are many additional reasons for maintaining the integrity of the
circulation in the dentinal tubules, but root canal therapy completely destroys
this integrity by filling in the root canal and preventing the proper
directional flow of the lymph. So what, then, happens to the non-circulating
lymph trapped in these tubules? It becomes stagnant and toxic, leaching out
septic poisons into the bloodstream through the porous cementum. Mercury
amalgams are said to be like caskets in the body, and root canals like
cadavers. They are dead organisms that only serve to add to the body's burden
of toxicity. I do not recommend root canals for anyone. However, each
individual has a right to own their decisions, and many people simply do not
wish to opt for the alternative, to lose the tooth (which is, after all, part
of their body) through extraction. I respect this point of view, but I think it
is important to always discuss the potential consequences of this decision.



Another related area of discussion is whether the root canal filling actually
succeeds in sterilizing the apical end, or tip, of the tooth. This is a
debatable point, as there are so many lateral canals at the root of the tooth
that can harbor bacteria that it is unlikely that a completely aseptic, or
sterile, condition will exist. But, again, the acceptance of root canal therapy
as a viable alternative to extraction is completely and whole-heartedly
supported by organized dentistry. A dentist is considered to be in violation of
the code of professional ethics if he or she speaks out against root canal
therapy. When I was a practicing dentist, I always let my patients make the
decision for themselves after  explaining all the pros and cons.



Cavitational Lesions

The next and last area of dental toxicity I will be discussing is the problem
of unhealed extraction sites. These are called neuralgia inducing cavitational
osteonecrosis (NICO), or jawbone cavitations. These areas may be a source of
pain, but they cannot always be seen on an x-ray. The cause of these lesions is
difficult to pinpoint. It is believed that, if infection follows an extraction,
or if a dry socket occurs after an extraction, the likelihood of a NICO lesion
occurring is more likely. Even though the surgical site appears normal, a
problem can exist in the bone for years. When these areas are biopsied, the
abnormal features of a NICO lesion are discovered. It is not understood why
some of these lesions are painful while others are not.



Based on laboratory findings, one or more of the following factors contribute
to NICO development: immune system dysfunction or deficiency; unusual microbial
pathogens; reduced blood flow to the affected part of the jaw; lack of one of
several intra-bony growth factors; and nerve dysfunction. NICO lesions can
cause pain, from mild to severe in some people. Pain from these lesions can be
referred, or transferred, to distant organs. They can even refer pain across
the midline, from one side of the mouth to the other, giving a false impression
as to the source of the pain. Obviously, the best treatment is prevention, and
this is accomplished by the dentist properly cleaning the soft tissue
attachment, scraping the bone, and irrigating the socket with a homeopathic
remedy. Generally, once NICOs are pinpointed, they are surgically cleaned out
and biopsied to confirm diagnosis. NICO lesions are very perplexing. Even after
surgery, they can reappear years later. Many times after the removal of these
lesions, trigeminal facial pain subsides (the trigeminal nerves control facial
movement and chewing, and trigeminal pain can manifest in various parts of the
face). Many dentists are not familiar with this problem, but most oral surgeons
are (7). In the last fifteen years of my practice of dentistry, I observed
approximately twenty patients exhibiting NICO, so you can see that, while not
especially common, they do pose a very real problem.



Fluoride

Many of you are familiar with the controversy concerning fluoride. "No other
procedure in the history of medicine has been praised so highly nor at the same
time condemned so thoroughly," states Dr. George L. Waldbott in his book
Fluoridation: The Great Dilemma (8). The pro-fluoride forces believe that the
benefits outweigh the risks, and that those risks are so small at the levels to
which most of us are exposed as to be insignificant.



However, in 1977, John A. Yiamouyiannis, Ph.D. presented to Congress a
controversial study that found that people living in the nation's ten largest
fluoridated cities suffered 15% more cancer than those living in the ten
largest non-fluoridated areas. What is even more frightening that is William L.
Marcus, a senior scientific advisor for the Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) Drinking Water Program, recently stated that the committee report not
only overlooked liver cancer incidence but also would have reported "some" or
"clear" evidence of carcinogenicity, had they not buckled under to pressure
from pro-fluoride groups (9). After making this announcement, Dr. Markus was
given 30 days to leave his job — another sad but clear example of moneyed
interests outweighing serious public health concerns.



S you may already have guessed, my own feelings are strongly against fluoride.
Fluoride is a form of the mineral element fluorine that is quite toxic at
anything above infinitesimal levels. Too many vital enzyme systems in our body
are compromised by it, leading to possible complications with arthritis,
gastric ulcers, atherosclerosis, kidney disorders, migraine headaches and, of
course, cancer. The debate continues, but the pro-fluoridation forces are
slowly losing ground. As our technology becomes more sophisticated, its
detrimental effects are becoming more evident. There is the possibility that
the fluoride might prevent dental caries to a limited degree, but the price we
have to pay health-wise is simply not worth it. The bottom line is: I would not
prescribe fluoride treatments for my children; I would vote against fluoridated
water; and I would recommend drinking only purified, non-fluoridated water.



Acupuncture

The last topic I will be discussing in this chapter is the role of acupuncture
in dentistry, even though it does not directly relate to our primary theme of
dental toxicity. There are two types of acupuncture: the traditional Chinese
form that uses very fine needles inserted into acupuncture points located along
the meridians (the bioelectrical pathways that connect up to different organ
systems in the body); and electro-acupuncture. Both accomplish the same
function but electro-acupuncture uses special equipment that allows the
practitioner to determine the degree of imbalance in any meridian, as well as
to deliver a mild electrical impulse to the acupuncture point to help correct
that imbalance. The uses of acupuncture in dentistry are many. Pain relief,
anxiety control, anesthesia, speeding up of the healing process, and
differential diagnosing are the principle reasons for its growing popularity
among holistic dentists, though it does take a few years to become proficient
in this modality. Traditional Chinese acupuncture is taught in colleges of
oriental medicine and at some universities, but electro-acupuncture is only
taught through specialized professional groups.



Electro-acupuncture was researched and developed about fifty years ago by Dr.
Reinhardt Voll, a medical doctor from Germany. After curing himself of colon
cancer using Chinese acupuncture, he concluded he could make an instrument that
would ascribe an accurate electrical value to each meridian. This is how the
EAV (Electro-Acupuncture according to Voll) unit was born. It was serendipitous
that he discovered that homeopathy could also be used in conjunction with the
EAV to determine exact potencies. The use of electro-acupuncture is still in
its infancy, but the discipline is so accurate that I believe it that it will
be universally adopted by the medical profession for diagnostic purposes in the
coming decades. In dentistry, where pain and rapid healing are so important,
acupuncture can be very beneficial. I still use electro-acupuncture in my
nutritional practice, not for diagnostic purposes, but for quantifying my
clients' progress as they balance out their blood pH. Needless to say, it is a
blessing that acupuncture is becoming an ever more accepted part of our health
delivery system, and it is my contention that it is only going to grow in
popularity.