For our serious techno junkies, please tells us something about dental resins and their potential toxicity. Should we ask for certain bonding materials from our own dentists?

I don't know. All of 'em are poisonous. We just don't know to what extent and probably won't 'til they've been used in our "test subjects", aka, "patients" for half a century. EVERY service we offer in our office is harmful and destructive to some degree, with one notable exception. We've provided ONE SINGLE non-harmful service since 1972 that can be more beneficial than any other. That ONE non-harmful (& even HEALTHFUL) service is the one you're receiving NOW, thanks to Chet & your choice to subscribe to his fine journal: preventive dental info!! It's also dentistry's only bargain!! I recommend using whatever the dentist or dental student you have confidence in has the most success with. You can research and find the most ideal material and if your dentist isn't experienced at using it it's performance will be worse than the worst material your research finds.

Do dentists get their x-ray machines checked?

I should hope so. At our office, we have two checks: dental service technicians periodically examine the equipment and our team periodically wears dosimetry badges which are sent for processing and reports are returned showing zero exposure unless our people forget to take their badges off when they go out in the sun or across the street to stand by the 7-11's leaky micro-wave oven.

Can NH "reverse" an abscess?

My understanding is that Natural Hygiene can not DO anything; only your body can do things like that. NH is just a lifestyle that seems to best support the mind/body in its self-healing, self-repairing functions. Dunno what Òreversing" an abscess amounts to. The abscess is likely your body's way of eliminating some sort of noxious materials, perhaps the toxic waste products of bacteria eating your pulp tissue and pooping poisons out the apex of the root of your tooth. Regardless of your meaning for Òreverse," I assume you're interested in the abscess healing and the jawbone no longer hurting, swelling, etc. The body heals the abscess when the cause is removed. If the cause is toxic material seeping from the decomposing pulp tissue inside your tooth, the abscess heals after that material's removed. Without help from someone like a dentist, the body would eventually expel the tooth along with the source of the toxins OR establish a draining tube (fistula) from the source to outside the body (probably on the gum tissue near the root tip of the tooth, allowing the toxins to drain into your mouth (really OUTSIDE the Òbody"), a situation most folks find unpleasant and which the medical establishment views as dangerous to health.

The recommended intervention is to help the body eliminate the cause, the decomposing contents of the pulp chamber. The least invasive, least traumatic method is to clean, enlarge and fill that canal space (root canal treatment). The other recommended option is to remove the whole tooth, including the source of the problem. When the pulp of a tooth dies, the fluid circulation through the dentin of the tooth ceases (I think). If that's true, the fluid trapped within the dentinal tubules would probably stagnate and perhaps decompose to products toxic to the body. I think Meinig's book states that bacterial appear at this point. They probably do. a n untreated root canal, or the untreatable small dentinal tubules & microbranches of the root canals, once the fluid flow has stopped, would provide excellent condos for bacterial colonies, completely protected from all the body's defense mechanisms.

The dental establishment does not seem bothered by this possibility 'tho studies by Price, Page & others seem to indicate that teeth that have had root canal treatment (endodontic therapy) may be toxic. Dr. Hal Huggins and his clones agree. I've discussed this issue with many endodontists & dental gurus & they nearly all dismiss the issue as trivial & quote the 95+% "success" rate provided by root canal treatment, meaning that most of the teeth treated endodontically seem to serve as any other teeth for a lifetime. Some acupuncturists, particularly in Germany, believe that these Òdead teeth" screw up acupuncture meridians and thus impair bodily function. I don't know.

Price was quoted in Meinig's book to have concluded that about 25% of the population can tolerate root canal treatment and survive through old age with the tooth functioning. That 25% may have contracted to about 2% with today's SAD lifestyle & the 2% probably includes most Natural Hygienists. Teeth without normal fluid flow DO become more brittle and are more prone to breakage than normal teeth, so they usually need a secure restoration (onlay or crown) and sometimes a dowel post for added strength. If a tooth is removed, it generally requires replacement (fixed or removable bridge, implant, etc.) to prevent further collapse and destruction of the mouth and to restore the chewing that a NH food plan implies. Unless folks are suffering from some "incurable disease", they're usually not interested in removing body parts that seem to be functioning trouble-free & I have difficulty in recommending they do so.

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The hygienist (or Dr.) sez my tooth is cracked & I need a crown--What's a cracked tooth? Do I really need a crown? If it doesn't bother me, why fix it? What caused it? How can I prevent more cracked teeth? What happens if I don't get the crown? Howcum nobody told me before?

--First, Dr. Bob usually won't say "You need a crown." He generally would say "Here's what the problem is; here's what I'd do if the problem were in MY mouth." It's YOUR mouth & OUR responsibility is to diagnose as thoroughly as possible & provide you with as much information as necessary for YOU to make an INFORMED decision about what to do about any problems or potential problems.

What's a cracked tooth?--One with a break or opening in the structure of the tooth. Most easily demonstrated by projecting a very bright light thru the tooth. Both sides of an intact tooth appear bright with such a light. A fracture alters the passage of the light so that the section of the tooth on the far side of the crack appears dark. The crack can be just a surface condition affecting only the enamel (1), or it can extend into the deeper (dentin) surface (2), or all the way into the pulp (3) where the blood vessels & nerve resides the nerve does not like cracks in its tooth!), or the crack can extend completely thru the length of the root (4). While this total split is rare, my father lost his only missing teeth (years before he & Mom invited me to live on the planet) this way.







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What should we do about it?--Strong recommendation: restore it with the most conservative, least-involved, least expensive, least traumatic restoration that is strong enough to prevent your tooth from cracking further. The recommended restoration is generally a bonded "onlay" or "crown" of metal &/or tooth-colored "synthetic enamel" -- a "circumferential" restoration.

Next best recommendation: Baby that tooth. Prevent it from getting worse by following the "How to Prevent My Teeth From Cracking" section at the end of this sheet, let us adjust the occlusion (alter the biting surface of the tooth so you're less likely to split the tooth).

An option we've tried on occasion with usually VERY TEMPORARY results: Bond the tooth together with a composite resin (biting forces seem to be strong enough to rapidly overcome the bond in this application).

It doesn't bother me; why fix it if it ain't broke?--I agree. I'm a strong advocate of doing the LEAST amount of dentistry possible to attain or maintain health. If you're only planning to live a few more days, leave it alone. But if it's cracked it IS broke & if we fix it, it's less likely to get worse. Generally, if a tooth is restored with something strong enough to keep the crack from progressing deeper into your tooth you don't get to experience periodontal surgery, root canal treatment, extraction or have the lost tooth replaced with an implant, bridge or removable partial denture.
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