Treat gum disease for whole body health

Treat gum disease for whole body health
January 3, 2008
Dr. John Rothchild, D.D.S.
PioneerLocal.com

Holistic medicine and dentistry have known for many years that the condition of your mouth, including your gums, can affect your health. And recent research has proven that gum disease can cause heart attacks, stroke, bronchial infections, diabetes, and as reported in the Wall Street Journal, a higher incident of pancreatic cancer. If you add a smoking habit to the equation, it will increase the risk of cardiac problems even more significantly.

There are bacteria in your mouth whether you like it or not. These are the bugs that cause gum disease and decay if you and your body's immune system get out of balance. These bacteria can even be passed back and forth to your loved ones.

Bugs that swim can swim anywhere. The mouth is not a closed system.

Do you have a bad taste in your mouth, do you have bad breath, do you have bleeding when you brush and floss? These are signs that you may have a gum infection.

As many as 70 to 80 percent of the United States population has some form of gum disease. In many cases this disease is curable. Just brushing your teeth is not the answer, though. Flossing along with the brushing will help. But it is most important to have regular checkups with a dentist so he or she can evaluate and continually observe your mouth. A lot can happen in less than a year with your oral health.

Some gum problems may be acute, that is, they are treatable conditions with one or two visits to the dentist. But in many, the condition could be chronic, being silent at some times and then occurring again.

In a proactive approach, the holistic dentist may recommend an herbal toothpaste and mouth rinse, homeopathic or herbal remedies and vitamins to boost your immune system. Vitamin C with bioflavonoids, folic acid, fish oils, calcium, magnesium and zinc are all good vitamins to take for gum and bone health. Peppermint oil, tea tree oil, and oil of oregano are all good antibacterials and can help as an adjunct to the other mouth rinses, flossing and brushing.

If you have significant inflammation and disease where there is actual bone lost around the teeth there are several conservative approaches. The most popular approach may include sessions of deep cleaning where the dentist or hygienist numbs a part of your mouth and removes the deep tartar (calculus and plaque) under the gums, which is a playground for the bugs.

For patients with very deep pockets and bone loss, the traditional recommended therapy was to send the patient to the gum specialist to be treated. In extreme cases, the gums would be surgically revised and possibly new synthetic bone added with the hope that the bone would decrease the infection site and the pocket. The site would then be sewn shut with stitches.

An alternative approach to this traditional technique is laser therapy, a trend in holistic dentistry. An FDA-approved procedure called the LANAP (LASER Assisted New Attachment Procedure) uses a type of pulse laser called an Nd:Yag laser, which has been proven to treat gum disease and promote bone growth in the areas where bone loss and gum attachment has occurred. With this procedure there is no cutting, no stitches, and subsequently, less fear. Laser treatment has been successful and often can take the place of traditional periodontal therapy.

-- Dr. John Rothchild, D.D.S. is a ChicagoHealers.com practitioner. For more on holistic health, see ChicagoHealers.com.

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