In this issue:
Does the Amount of Dental Infection Influence
the Severity of the Disease?
By Dr. George Meining,D.D.S.,
* When infected teeth produce disturbance in other parts of the body, it is not necessary that the quantity of infection be large, nor is it demonstrated that it is necessary that organisms pass throughout the body or to the special tissues involved, but the evidence at hand strongly suggests that soluble poisons may pass from the infected teeth to the lymph or blood circulation, or both, and produce systemic disturbance entirely our of proportion to the quantity of poison involved.
* The evidence indicates that toxic substance may under certain circumstances sensitize the body or special tissues so that very small quantities of the organisms, which produce that toxin, may produce very marked reactions and disturbances.
* The nature and results of the numerous Dr. Price investigations are a continuous source of amazement.
* For example, in pondering how bacteria could survive in dentin tubules when they become sealed off by the root canal filling, Dr.Price devised a method of dehydrating teeth - that is, measuring the amount of moisture they contain.
* In doing this experiment, Dr. Price found root filled teeth contained fluid of sufficient quantity to be culture medium which would nourish bacteria.
* Another question which interested Dr. Price was whether the bacteria in infected teeth soley responsible for the illnesses which occurred.
* He found that by extracting infected teeth, crushing them, and then washing the powder, bacteria could still be found in the liquid. When he put the liquid in a centrifuge, the centrifugal force spun off the bacteria and sedimment, leaving a clear liquid.