SUGAR, HEART ATTACKS AND A DENTAL CLEANING
BLOG #100 “SUGAR, HEART ATTACKS AND A DENTAL CLEANING”
Dr. Spiker Davis D.D.S. 713-781-2800, Jenna Nixon Holistic Nutritionist 281-433-9996 & Dr. Matt Guerre D.D.S. 713-781-2800
In collaboration with Dr. John Seger M.D. Cardiologist 713-791-9444
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This week I had a patient come in who had been living with a long term dental infection. In fact, it was a long-term abscessed tooth. The reason they had not come in for treatment was because there was no pain or swelling so in their mind, “WHAT’S THE RUSH”? Back in the 70’s there was a similar situation that I was aware of through Dr. Denton Cooley (His dad was a dentist). It was a very similar situation but in this case the infection from the tooth spread to the patient’s heart and they patient almost died and had to have lots of serious heart operations. We have all had similar issues where we refused to go to the doctor because basically we felt like it was no big deal and our body would heal.
The patient this week was motivated for 2 reasons. First she knew it was time for a dental cleaning and in fact she was past due. Second of all, the tooth that we had discussed last year was starting to bother her and she noticed that she was having lots of other symptoms such as headaches and dizziness and just generally didn’t feel good. She doubted that it was from her tooth but just wanted to check it out. JUST TO BE CLEAR, IF YOU HAVE AN ABSCESSED TOOTH, PLEASE GET IT FIXED ASAP. DO NOT PUT IT OFF AS IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE AND MORE EXPENSIVE!!!
So, let’s cover the full story. First of all, you basically don’t get decay unless you are eating some sugar and or some carbohydrates that are easily converted into sugar such as white bread, pasta, white rice etc. These carbs in the mouth are broken down into sugar very rapidly and sitting next to a tooth can begin the decay process. There are some other reasons for decay such as acidic drinks like colas and orange juice etc. but in general almost all cavities come from you feeding the bacteria in your mouth some form of SUGAR and or starchy carbohydrates. A lot of my patients tell me they never eat sugar but in reality the average person in America is consuming about 200 pounds of sugar per year and it is because it has been added to almost everything in a package. I found SUGAR the other day in Morton’s salt!!! READ YOUR LABELS!!!
The second part of this story is that the patient was not very regular about coming in for their dental cleaning. You see, when you come in regularly the dentist and the hygienist look in your mouth for anything that is not normal. If you come regularly we can usually catch a cavity when it is very small and then it only requires a filling. If you don’t come in for that cleaning, then the cavity will grow. It will eventually grow into the nerve of the tooth and now it is an infection and the infection will kill the nerve of the tooth and this is a serious problem. In some cases, this never hurts until the infection is really bad. It reminds me of heart attacks as they never hurt until you are dead or in the hospital. Sounds similar to me. That infection is in your mouth and can easily spread through the gums and bone and enter the bloodstream to travel throughout the body. You are also swallowing this infection so it will irritate the stomach lining and enter the bloodstream through the stomach. It may be connected to stomach and colon cancer?? NONE OF THIS IS A GOOD DEAL!! It can spread to the brain, the heart, the lungs etc. In fact, many of these infections are linked to cancer, diabetes, dementia, heart attack and stroke. So please put on your thinking cap and remember to not eat SUGAR (as this feeds the bad bacteria in your mouth) and to visit your dentist regularly for a dental cleaning and exam! It’s your life!
Then end of this story fortunately turned out very well. We were able to extract the tooth which gets rid of the source of the infection. Because this person was relatively young, her body was then able to fight off the remaining infection. I called her the next day, and she was feeling so much better. Several days later she reported that all of those weird symptoms were gone and now she felt normal. So now, we will have to figure out how to replace the missing tooth and get her back to normal health. There are several options such as an implant, a bridge or a partial denture. All of these items are very expensive and require multiple visits to the office. If she had only come in for her cleaning and we had caught the decay when it was small, everything could have been avoided and solved with a simple filling. But because it wasn’t bothering her and she put it off, now she will need to spend thousands of dollars and lots of time in my chair. DOESN’T IT MAKE SENSE TO JUST GO GET YOUR TEETH CLEANED???
SUMMARY-It is obvious to ME that your mouth is the window to your health. In my opinion, we should all focus on our health every day and that includes brushing, flossing, dental cleanings and while we are at it, lets visit our physician for that annual checkup! What do you think?
The doctors and staff are behind you and call us if we can help. 713-781-2800. Also, please call or email JENNA NIXON if you need some detailed NUTRITIONAL counseling from a true WELL-TRAINED professional.
REMEMBER, “YOU DON’T HAVE TO FLOSS ALL OF YOUR TEETH, JUST THE ONES YOU WANT TO KEEP”!
LET’S MAKE THIS OUR HEALTHIEST YEAR EVER!
Spiker