Dental
Oral Probiotics Offer Another Path to Wellness
“The mouth is the door of evil.” So said Euripides, the ancient Greek playwright of tragedy. If he were a modern-day nutritionist, it could be an observation on the very bad stuff people put in their mouths as food. Mother Teresa, however, acknowledged the mouth’s ability to do good. "Kind words can be short and easy to speak,” she said, “but their echoes are truly endless." So, is your mouth a place of good or evil? Nourishment and communication are two functions of the mouth. On the outside, a smile is a beautiful signal of happiness. But inside the mouth, there exists a complex ecosystem of friends and enemies. The mouth is home to an extraordinary community of more than 700 species...Read More
Dental, Lifestyle
Good Oral Health Demands Manual Labour
Mickey Mantle, former star of the New York Yankees baseball team, often remarked, “If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” He was only 63 when he died. Now, with many of us getting a good chance to live beyond 100, what’s one of the best investments in maintaining good health? It’s cheap, easy, and right inside your mouth. Tooth decay affects 96 percent of North American people 50-64 years old. The statistics for tooth decay are almost as high for people aged 20-49. One in five North Americans over age 19 have lost teeth. One in four over 75 years of age have no teeth. Last year, the World Health Organization...Read More
Dental, Infection
Is It Now Safe to Visit the Dentist?
Visiting the dentist is rarely a high priority, even in the best of times. We can always find reasons for delay. But what level of coronavirus threat should justify more waiting? There is increasing concern that all these closures of “non-essential” healthcare service providers may, in some cases, be doing more harm than good. There’s serious concern regarding delays in some cancer treatments. And some heart attack victims have also been delayed in getting help until it is too late. However, it’s understandable that non-emergency dental care has been on hold. As time goes by though, we must heed the importance of a regular dental cleaning and check-up. And many will need more involved dental work. So as dental offices reopen, how...Read More
Dental, Gastroenterology
The Tongue, You’d Better Brush It
Brushing teeth after meals can prevent tooth decay, save dental bills, and avoid halitosis. But not many know that brushing the tongue helps the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, immune system, and prevents a shocking number of diseases. So, how is the tongue associated with so many diverse problems, and what can you do to prevent them? Dr. Thomas Levy, an expert on toxins and infections, reports that the human body contains 100 trillion microbes. This is an enormous and diverse assortment of bacteria, fungi and protozoa. In fact, it’s so huge that some researchers refer to it as a “microbial organ”. It’s vital that this mass of microbes remains well-balanced for good health. Levy says that the best way to keep a normal...Read More
Dental, Nutrition, Pediatrics, Philosophy
Halloween Should Scare Up a Big Boooo!
If you are looking for a holiday tradition that has lost any semblance of common sense, look no further than Halloween. Today, it has few redeeming qualities. Let’s focus on only the health issues associated with children consuming ridiculous quantities of junk. Halloween candy comprises the lowest quality food on the market – cheap, sugary chocolate bars, chewy treats, hard candies, salty chips, soft drinks, and who knows what else – all questionably packaged, and gleefully handed out to unsuspecting youngsters as if it were the best thing on Earth. What a crock! Mary Poppins sang that a “spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”, but that should be a rare occasion. Today, I see children spooning far more than that...Read More
Dental, Pediatrics, Radiation
How Necessary Are Dental X-Rays?
What should you do the next time the dentist tells you he or she is going to take full dental X-rays? A new study shows that just as porcupines make love very, very carefully, you should also take care to limit the amount of radiation exposure during your lifetime, particularly the amount children receive. Dr. Elizabeth Claus of Yale University reports in the American Cancer Society Journal Cancer, that there's a link between dental x-rays and the risk of developing a brain tumour called a meningioma. These tumours grow from the meninges, the layers of tissue that cover the brain. Fortunately, most meningiomas are benign. Others are slow growing, but they can become life-threatening when they become as large as a baseball...Read More
Dental
A Small Hole Can Sink a Big Ship
A proverb states that, “For want of a nail, the horseshoe was lost. For want of a horseshoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider. the battle was lost.” All this due to the want of a nail! Napoleon Bonaparte once remarked that trivial things often decide the outcome of a battle. They can also decide the outcome of your health. It’s tragic that one in five North Americans have no teeth after the age of 65. It’s also unfortunate that many people naively believe that poor dental hygiene simply means loss of teeth. Think again, because being toothless could end your life. Mother’s advice was right, that teeth should be brushed...Read More
Dental
Lasers to Regenerate Teeth?
Over 400 years ago, Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, realized the importance of sound teeth. Don Quixote said, "For I would have you know, Sancho, that a mouth without molars is like a mill without a stone, and a tooth is more precious than a diamond." Yet many people today don't appreciate the importance of his message. Today, tooth decay affects 96 percent of the population. Two out of five North Americans over age 19 have lost teeth. And over age 65 one in five have no teeth, often due to gum disease. Dental rust, known as periodontal gum disease (PGD), is an insidious process. In its early stages the gum turns from a natural pink to red. Later, small...Read More
Dental, Surgery
Antibiotics for Cleaning Teeth after Hip Replacement?
What should you do if a dentist or dental hygienist says, "I won't clean your teeth unless you agree to take antibiotics following surgical hip or knee replacement?" Today, over one million hip and knee replacements are done every year in North America. It's estimated that by the year 2030 this number will escalate to four million annually. But should dentists paint every joint implant patient with the same brush? The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (ACOS) is adamant about this question. They claim that during the last 20 years the number of post-operative hip and knee infections has markedly decreased due to the use of antibiotics during surgery and the immediate post-operative period. Anyone scheduled for these procedures can shout "hallelujah"...Read More
Dental, Pediatrics
Water Fluoridation Affects Children’s IQ
Why, in 1974, didn't authorities learn from this terrible tragedy? A three year old Brooklyn boy, during his first dental checkup, had fluoride paste applied to his teeth. He was then handed a glass of water, but the hygienist failed to inform him to swish the solution around in his mouth, and then spit it out. Instead, he drank the water, and a few hours later he was dead from fluoride poisoning. Fluoride is an acute toxin with a rating higher than lead. I was severely criticized by dentists when I issued a warning about fluoride five years ago. Now, a report from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), says that the use of fluoride causes a decrease in children's...Read More
Cancer, Dental
Dental X-Rays Linked To Meningiomas
What should you do the next time the dentist tells you he or she is going to take full dental X-rays? A new study shows that just as porcupines make love very, very carefully you should also take care to limit the amount of radiation exposure during your lifetime, particularly the amount your children receive. Dr. Elizabeth Claus of Yale University reports in the American Cancer Society Journal "Cancer", that there's a link between dental x-rays and the risk of developing a brain tumour called a meningioma. These tumours grow from the meninges, the layers of tissue that cover the brain. Fortunately, most meningiomas are benign. Others are slow growing, but they can become life-threatening when they become as large as a...Read More
Dental
Result : The Great Soap Experiment
Several months ago I started brushing my teeth with soap. Why? Because I’m of Scottish background and I don’t enjoy paying dental bills. Nor do I find it pleasant to have dentists scraping plaque from my teeth every six months. Besides, a medical report said that soap not only removes plaque, but also stops cavities and protects gums. So how did my experiment turn out? My first reaction to this report was, “Come on, Dr. Judd, you must be kidding! Who would ever brush their teeth with soap?” But Dr. Gerald Judd was no nut. He was a retired Professor of chemistry at Purdue University. So since I admire people who challenge well-established theories that may be wrong, I didn’t...Read More
Dental
Soap to Brush Your Teeth? Are You Kidding?
Do you enjoy paying dental bills? Or having dentists scraping plaque from your teeth? If it’s a pleasure, there’s no need to read this column. But I’ve never enjoyed these regular checkups. Now there’s a way to retire dentists, prevent cavities, protect gums and rid teeth of plaque, using cheap, ordinary soap. My first reaction when I read this report was, “Come on, Dr. Judd, you must be kidding! Who would ever brush teeth with soap?” But Dr. Gerald F. Judd is no nut. He’s a retired Emeritus Professor of chemistry at Purdue University. I admire people who have the intestinal fortitude to question well-established theories that may be wrong. Besides, I discovered he and I both believe dentists...Read More
Dental, Surgery
Saving Thousands of Dollars On Expensive Dental care
My initial reaction was, "It can't be true". I've enough gray hair to know that if something sounds too good to be true, it's normally an easy way to lose money. But this was one of my editors talking. And I've also got enough gray hair to know you don't tell your editor he's full of baloney. That's a speedy way to get fired. So I politely listened. Particularly, since preserving healthy teeth has always been a good way to preserve your health. Karsten Mertens is publisher of the German newspaper, "Neue Welt", Canada's major German newspaper. Several months ago he decided it was time for a dental checkup even though he had no symptoms of dental trouble. His dentist took...Read More
Dental
Donald Trump To Larry King “Your Breath Is Bad”
Are you having trouble getting a second date? Do you see friends backing away when you're speaking to them. Or has your faithful dog started to sit on the other side of the room. If so, you may be suffering from "halitosis". But before you lose your last friend there are ways to fight this problem. A good start is to take the blueberry test. It will also help to save your teeth. I've often thought that being a dentist must be an awful job if your patient has halitosis. How can he or she back away while doing a root canal? Or how can singers facing each other still smile when one has halitosis? But the reverse can also be...Read More
Dental, Orthopedics
Are Osteoporosis Drugs Killing Your Jaw?
Several weeks ago I reported on a new revolutionary way to fight osteoporosis. This year astronauts will use it when they take to the space station the "Juvent Dynamic Motion Therapy Platform (DMT). It's a non-drug method of preventing astronauts from developing brittle bones in a weightless atmosphere. I didn't realize at the time it would also prevent osteonecrosis of the jaw which is now linked to current drugs for treatment of osteoporosis. Today millions of patients are taking drugs (bisphosphonates) to prevent osteoporosis. But it's ironic that bone drugs may cause harm to bones they're supposed to protect. As I've told readers often, "You never get anything for nothing". Reports of a possible link between the oral bisphosphonates (Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva)...Read More
Dental, Orthopedics
New Space-Age Way To Treat Osteoporosis
In 2007 what will astronauts take to the space station? I'm sure we would name the things necessary to sustain life in outer space. But I doubt if many would know they will be packing the "Juvent 1000 Dynamic Motion Therapy (DMT) Platform" in the space shuttle. And how many are aware of Wolff's Law? Now, through the space research of NASA, patients have an alternative non-drug way to fight the ravages of osteoporosis (brittle bones). Astronauts face major problems during space travel. One of the most severe is the loss of bone tissue. In a weightless atmosphere, without the earth's gravitational pressure, astronauts lose two percent of their bone mass every month. Here on earth our bones fare much better. But...Read More
Dental
Fluoridation And Why Montreal Males Are Better Lovers
"Doctor, I'd suggest fluoride treatment to protect your teeth". I agreed with my dentist. After all, I'd been told since I was knee-high that fluoride prevents cavities. I've also used fluoride toothpaste for years. But I recently decided to research this topic to see if there was a downside to this treatment. Now I know why Montreal males are better lovers than those in Toronto. William, a three year old Brooklyn boy, had his first dental checkup in 1974. Fluoride gel was spread over the teeth. Following that he was handed a glass of water by the hygienist who failed to inform him to swish the solution in his mouth and spit it out. Instead, he drank the water and a...Read More
