The New Agenda of American Dentistry

[Guest guest]

The New Agenda of American Dentistry

- Tim O'Shea

 

www.thedoctorwithin.com

 

 

 

 

With the ascension of managed health care in the 1990s, both

medicine and dentistry have taken an invidious turn in this country.

The fundamental reason is that medicine is no longer run by doctors

and dentistry is no longer run by dentists. Or even by the AMA or

the ADA. Now both professions have prostituted themselves to a

higher entity – the insurance cartels, which are run today not by

doctors, but by MBAs – corporate financiers.

 

 

All policies, billing procedures, all medical and dental decisions

answer to one prime directive: profit. It's certainly not a hidden

conspiracy. These businesses enjoy success today because they do

what corporations are designed to do: make money for their

shareholders.

 

And it's still growing: in 1992, 36% of Americans were under managed

care. By 1996, it was up to 60% (American Association of Health

Plans) And today the figure is about 85%. (Singing the HMO Blues) As

we all know, the new profit-driven industry has given birth to

concepts like:

 

 

 

lack of medical necessity

 

the " experimental " label, which means it's not covered under your

plan

 

 

to keep services rendered to a minimum. In this way, HMOs can

continue to pay their CEOs average salaries of $2 million per year,

with some, like Steve Williams of Oxford Health, pulling down over

$30 million per year. (Rose, also Fisher)

 

You may have noticed that HMOs filled the vacuum left by the failure

of Bill and Hillary's 1994 'health plan. " Providing a very low level

of doctor services to a large number of people, HMOs commonly

 

 

 

deny expensive drugs

 

deny expensive procedures

 

force doctors and hospitals to accept lower and lower fees

 

make every medical decision subject to approval by non-medical

personnel

 

 

With all these problems, HMOs actually helped stem the double digit

rise of yearly medical costs – for a few years. But with HMO

premiums now going up at the rate of at least 9% per year, that

honeymoon is over. (Lemov) We're right back where we were before,

with much lower standards of care.

 

In Conventional Medicine vs. Holistic, we have already seen how

managed care has affected the overall health index of American

people. The present chapter will briefly explore the implications of

this same set-up for the ordinary American dental patient. We will

concentrate on three topics:

 

 

Dental amalgams

 

Routine antibiotics

 

Fluoridation

 

 

I. SILVER FILLINGS AREN'T SILVER

 

Remember when you were a child and you went to the dentist, and you

learned a new word: cavities. A hole had rotted its way into the

enamel, and must now be drilled out and made better. And the answer

to the problem was called a filling. And you may have begun to look

in the mouths of your family and friends to see their fillings, and

were thus reassured that this was normal because everyone had them

done. And the metal used for fillings was silver in color and was

generally referred to as silver. And the fact that silver is a

precious metal was some small compensation for the discomfort of the

drilling, because now you would be carrying around this precious

metal permanently in your teeth.

 

And about this same time period perhaps you also were visited by the

Tooth Fairy?

 

By definition, amalgam means alloy of two or more metals, one of

which is mercury. (Dorland's) In reality, dental amalgams are an

alloy of several metals including silver, zinc, copper, tin, and

mercury. Since mercury is the most volatile, being liquid at room

temperature, it is an excellent binder for the entire amalgam. In

most dental amalgams, mercury makes up about 50% of the material,

while silver is only 30%. (Lorscheider) So you see, silver fillings

are really mercury fillings.

 

The problem with mercury is its toxicity to human cells, especially

the brain cells, the gut cells, and the liver. By itself, mercury is

classified as a Hazardous Substance by the EPA, and is considered a

powerful poison, 5000 times more toxic than lead. (Basciano) If your

kid drops a mercury thermometer at school, the room has to be

evacuated and the Biohazards Team has to be called in. (Hansen)

Mercury is the most toxic metal there is that is not radioactive.

(Ziff) Doctors and researchers have known about mercury toxicity

since the early 1800s.

 

All systems of the body operate through the actions of two complex

protein substances: enzymes and hormones. Unfortunately, mercury has

a special affinity for both because of their component sulfhydryl

groups. Mercury can denature enzymes and inactivate hormones,

causing dysfunction of any system in an unpredictable and

untraceable manner. The Great Masquerader.

 

We reviewed mercury toxicity in some detail in the chapter on autism

and vaccines. (www.thedoctorwithin.com ) You may remember some of

the effects of mercury toxicity -

 

 

Immune suppression--- bleeding gums--- irregular heartbeat---

Chest pain--- emphysema--- allergies---

Sinusitis--- colitis --- muscle weakness---

Stomach cramps--- loose teeth--- double vision---

Anorexia --- weight loss --- depression---

Hallucinations--- numbness in hands --- speech disorders---

Memory loss --- emotional instability --- rash ---

Kidney damage --- CNS dysfunction --- manic depression ---

Lung damage --- liver damage --- brain damage ---

Learning disability

 

 

 

-- Sallie Bernard

 

 

Since it affects so many systems, often with a delayed reaction of

10 or 20 years because of its 25-year half life, mercury poisoning

is know as the Great Masquerader. (Ziff, p 41) If these problems

appear later in life, the physician will have no clue as to the true

cause.

 

Other fun facts about mercury poisoning are

 

 

(1) that it crosses the placenta to toxify the blood of the fetus,

(2) that mercury causes intestinal bacteria to be resistant to

antibiotics, and

(3) that mercury crosses the blood-brain barrier, lodging in brain

cells, especially those

involving memory and cognition.

 

 

 

HOW'D THIS AMALGAM BUSINESS ALL GET STARTED?

 

Looking into the history of amalgams is most illuminating. In the

1830s there were two groups of dentists in America: those favoring

mercury amalgams and those opposed to it. Those not in favor of

amalgam – the American Society of Dental Surgeons - disliked

amalgam's tendency to fracture teeth as it expanded in fillings. Nor

were they happy with the idea of mercury's side effects, like

insanity (Mad Hatter's Disease) and loss of motor function from

nerve damage. (Bernard)

 

So the Society pledged never to use amalgam for fillings.

(Lorscheider) The Society actually referred to those dentists who

used mercury as 'quacks' – short for quackenslaver – the German word

for mercury. And that is the origin of this derogatory medical term.

(Hansen, p. 40) The name of that other group, the one using mercury?

The American Dental Association.

 

From the 1830s till the 1850s, the controversy continued. Membership

in the Society slowly declined as amalgam became more popular, since

it was cheaper and easier to use than other filling materials.

Mercury amalgam fillings could be offered at an affordable price for

the largest number of people.

 

By 1859, the Society of American Dental Surgeons had faded out,

edged out by the champion of mercury fillings: the American Dental

Association. It is worth noting that the ADA's original unifying

principle was that amalgam was safe and effective – the idea is in

the ADA's collective DNA. When it was discovered that adding tin

solved the expansion problem, that was all she wrote. Since that

time, the composition of the amalgam alloy has remained almost

exactly the same.

 

No opposition. This must be why in its 125-year existence, the ADA

has never funded one single human safety study of mercury amalgams.

They never even tried to find out! (Ziff, p 24 ) But the ADA's

members are pledged never to mention anything about mercury toxicity

to patients. And in an ironic reversal, by the 1980s the ADA had

worked up the temerity to refer to any dentist who would suggest

amalgam removal as a " quack. " (Hansen, p 42)

 

Then in 1990, a very thorough scientific study was completed by F.L.

Lorscheider and colleagues. (Hansen, p 46) In their meticulously

designed experiment using sheep as subjects, they measured kidney

concentrations of mercury following amalgam placement in teeth. A

few of their findings:

 

 

 

Each amalgam filling releases about 10 mcg of mercury per day into

the body

 

 

Mercury crosses the placenta

 

 

Mercury causes autoimmunity

 

 

Mercury can make bacteria resistant to antibiotics

 

 

Mercury can impair fertility

 

 

12 amalgam fillings impaired kidney function by 50%

 

 

Some 70,000 kg of amalgams are placed into the mouths of Americans

each year. That's enough for over 100 million fillings.

 

 

This landmark experiment laid to rest the ADA's long-standing

contention that mercury was somehow magically stable once placed in

a filling, and could not leach into the body. Amazingly however,

such a claim is still sometimes heard even these days. Their proof?

150 years of use. That's it! Incredibly, they've never made any

clinical toxicity studies of mercury amalgams in all that time.

 

The National Institute for Science, Law, and Public Policy now has

an extensive and well researched website in which scientific journal

articles have provided abundant research that:

 

 

Mercury amalgams can impair kidney function (Boyd)

Mercury amalgams promote abnormal bacteria in the mouth and in the

colon (Summers)

Mercury amalgams can promote cardiac dysfunction (Frustaci)

 

 

 

So if mercury can do all this damage, the question then becomes

 

HOW MUCH IS DANGEROUS?

 

Mercury comes to humans through seafood, the air, accidental

environmental exposure, through vaccines and through mercury

amalgams. Fully two-thirds of all that exposure is due to mercury

amalgams. (Aposhian)

 

The World Health Organization came to the same conclusion in Geneva,

Switzerland meetings in 1991: mercury from amalgams is the #1 source

for human contamination:

 

 

source ....... micrograms per day

 

Amalgams ____ 3 – 17

 

Seafood ______ 2.3

Other food ____ .3

Air ________ traces

Water _______ traces

 

 

- Environmental Health Criteria 118

 

Although mercury from vaccines can reach as high as 78 micrograms

per day, that's only on the day of the shot. (Bernard) This puts

dental amalgams way out ahead for overall lifetime mercury exposure.

 

The New England Journal of Medicine agreed. In its 18 Oct 90 issue,

mercury in amalgams was described as

 

 

" the chief source of exposure [to mercury] of a large segment of the

US population. "

 

 

These are standard findings corroborated by dozens of other

researchers. It is impossible to do the most cursory investigation

into mercury without repeatedly running across these same facts.

That is why the current stated position on mercury amalgams by the

ADA is so fantastically extravagant, and evasive:

 

 

" There is no evidence in the scientific literature that minute

amounts of mercury vapor that may be released from amalgam

restorations cause mercury poisoning.dental amalgam, which has been

used extensively for more than 100 years, has an exemplary record of

safety and benefit to the dental patient. "

 

 

 

- Journal of the American Dental Association Dec 1987

 

 

" The strongest and most convincing support we have for the safety of

dental amalgam is the fact that each year more than 100 million

amalgam fillings are placed in the United States. And since amalgam

has been used for more than 150 years, literally billions of amalgam

fillings have been successfully used to restore decayed teeth. "

 

 

- Journal of the American Dental Association April 1990

 

 

Hard to argue with scientific data like that. That's the same line

that's been used with every fatal medical drug or procedure that's

ever been recalled from use, right up until the day they pulled it.

Although they constantly refer to " research " proving the safety of

mercury amalgams without ever citing any, the ADA now contents

itself with the old " that's the way we've always done it " defense.

They ignore all current research on mercury toxicity from hundreds

of scientific sources, and try to assure patients that mercury is

safe and harmless.

 

It is equally incomprehensible that the EPA has ruled that mercury

and all its compounds are not safe and may not be sold in OTC drugs,

and are to regarded as Hazardous Materials, with the single

exception of dental amalgams! In this application, inches from the

human brain, mercury is supposedly harmless! ( Ziff p 37) What's

wrong with this picture?

 

In congressional hearings in the spring of 00, Representative Dan

Burton wants to know why, if mercury is such a hazardous material

that special cleanup crews are summoned when any is spilled, why do

we think it's safe to put in our mouths? (Burton)

 

Even when they admit the 'rare' cases of damage from mercury

amalgams, the ADA employs Orwellian phrasing about 'sensitivity'

rather than calling it toxicity or poisoning. See how languaging is

everything? If the issue is sensitivity, then the damage or illness

is due to some weakness of the patient. It's his fault; it's not

that he's being poisoned. Nothing to do with the ADA's

responsibilities as guardians of the patient's health.

 

THE ADA'S REAL AGENDA

 

In their carefully packaged PR image, the ADA routinely tries to

pawn itself off as the defender of American people's dental health.

But when pushed in a court of law to state the parameters of their

own professional and ethical obligations to patients, the ADA showed

its true colors:

 

 

" The ADA owes no legal duty of care to protect the public from

allegedly dangerous products used by dentists. The ADA did not

manufacture, design, supply or install the mercury-containing

amalgams. The ADA does not control those who do. The ADA's only

alleged involvement in the product was to provide information

regarding its use. Dissemination of information relating to the

practice of dentistry does not create a duty of care to protect the

public from potential injury. "

 

Source: Legal brief filed in 1995 by attorneys for the ADA in W.H.

Tolhurst vs. Johnson and Johnson Consumer Products, Inc.; Engelhard

Corporation; ABE Dental, Inc.; the American Dental Association, et

al., in the Superior Court of the State of California, in and for

the County of Santa Clara, CA, Case No. 718228.

 

 

Thanks, guys. Always looking out for our best interests, right? They

refuse to investigate mercury toxicity because it's been used for so

long, and then they state that they really have no responsibility to

protect patients from poisons! Very progressive attitude – really

lends itself to a high standard of ethical research, don't you

think? Is it really asking too much for the profession who has the

legal right to drill and cut in people's mouths to try and keep

current on the safest, most up to date information about the

materials they place in the mouth?

 

No matter what you may hear from your dentist or anyone else, the

scientific literature shows over and over that mercury amalgams are

not stable once a filling is set. Instead, mercury

 

 

" is constantly released from amalgams, mainly as mercury vapour,

which is inhaled, absorbed, metabolized to ionic mercury, and

distributed throughout the body. "

 

" Dental amalgam is the major source of the body mercury burden.

Toxicological research on amalgam mercury has indicated deleterious

effects on the immune, renal, reproductive and central nervous

systems, and oral and intestinal bacteria. Research does not

indicate that amalgam fillings are safe. "

- AR Hibberd, Journal of Natural and Environmental Medicine Sep 98

 

 

In his study of chelating agents for removal of mercury from the

body, Hibberd summarizes several decades of research. Among his

findings:

 

 

 

It has been erroneously taught in dental school that amalgam was a

stable alloy which did not release mercury in the mouth.

 

 

A person with 8 fillings releases 120 Mug of mercury into the mouth

every day. As much as 17 Mug of that gets absorbed into the body. In

its vapor form the mercury is fat soluble, and favors lungs and

mucus membranes at first. Then it crosses tissue barriers, including

the blood brain barrier ands also the placenta. Mercury then

accumulates in the brain, the gut, and the liver.

 

 

The ADA cites a few studies that show the absence of mercury in the

blood and urine, and therefore conclude that amalgams are safe and

do not leak mercury. Hibberd explains how blood and urine are poor

indicators of mercury poisoning, because of accumulation in target

tissues.

 

The areas of the brain that mercury favors are those involved with

memory (amygdala and hippocampus). So here we see it's not just

aluminum that is implicated in Alzheimer's, like we're always

hearing. Hibberd goes on to show the dangers of accumulating mercury

with respect to

 

 

 

immune system

 

reproductive organs

 

kidneys

 

central nervous system

 

intestines

 

 

The largest study of amalgam toxicity ever done took place at the

University of Tübingen in Germany in 1995. With over 20,000

subjects, this study showed conclusively that mercury from amalgams

is continually released in quantities large enough to be identified

in the saliva. The designer of the study, Dr. Peter Krauss, noted

that in some patients the amount of mercury in saliva could be as

high as 100 times the WHO 'safe' level. (Krauss)

 

Citing studies proving toxicity from dental amalgams could go on all

day. To find more, an easy reference is Ziff's book Dentistry

Without Mercury in which dozens of studies are listed. Also Hansen's

The Key to Ultimate Health is loaded with studies of mercury

toxicity. For the average reader, the point has been made: abundant

scientific proof exists that mercury vapors are slowly emitted from

dental amalgams for years, and are inhaled and ingested into the

body. They are bioaccumulative within the cells of many tissues.

Many diseases and disorders have been positively correlated with

these levels of mercury.

 

One of these is Multiple Sclerosis. There was a 1987 study showing

that the levels of mercury in the spinal fluid of MS patients was 8

times higher than normal. (Silberod) Mercury has long been linked to

autoimmune diseases like MS because of its affinity to attach to

collagen tissue, which is the most common protein in the body.

Polluted by mercury infiltration, the collagen is seen by the immune

system as 'not self.'

 

A study appeared in 1994 proving that mercury from amalgams could

cross the placental barrier, toxifying unborn infants from the

mercury in their mothers' own mouths. (Sehnert)

 

After all this research in the early 1990s, many countries in Europe

now forbid dental amalgams. Sweden outlawed their use in 1997.

Denmark, Austria, and Germany followed soon thereafter. (Hansen, p

49)

 

California dentists are now required by law to inform their patients

about the toxicity of mercury amalgams. (Hansen p 50 )

 

We saw the overwhelming medical research on the toxicity of mercury

in the chapters titled: Autism and Vaccines, and also in Autism and

Mercury: The San Diego Conference. (www.thedoctorwithin.com) As

cited therein, mercury from vaccines has devastating effects on the

central nervous system. But the amount of toxic mercury absorbed

from amalgam fillings is much greater, due primarily to the constant

breathing in of the vapors of mercury arising from the amalgams

fillings in the mouth.

 

WHOLE BODY DETOX

 

The 1980s saw the rise of a small industry specializing in the

treatment of cancer by natural means, excluding the traditional

chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. ( www.thedoctorwithin.com) The

alternative or holistic approaches to cancer treatment have included

a wide variety of methods, with varying degrees of success and

superstition. But one commonality among these natural cancer cures

is an emphasis on detoxification: the clearing out of toxic

materials that may have been stored in the body for years in

 

 

the intestines

the stomach

the blood

the arteries

the joints

the liver

the gall bladder

the bones

the teeth

 

 

Many effective holistic methods have been brought forth over the

years for accomplishing detox in each of these locations, along with

many ineffective or even harmful remedies. But one method of detox

that is always cited in the majority of holistic protocols for whole

body cleansing is the removal of amalgam fillings.

 

SHOULD I REPLACE MY AMALGAMS?

 

Programs of holistic detoxification worldwide for years have been

recommending amalgam removal for total body detox. Recognizing this

as an economic threat, the ADA's official stance has not changed

since Sept 1984:

 

 

" The Association wishes to emphasize that there is no reason why a

patient should seek to have amalgam restorations (silver fillings)

removed. Indeed, the effect of such a procedure could be detrimental

to the patient's oral health, including the unnecessary loss of

teeth, and cannot be justified. " (NIDR, JADA, 1984)

 

 

See the trick? " Silver fillings. " Pretty slick, huh? And the

posturing about being the guardian of American dental health. The

art of persuasion and image–making. Is anyone noticing that dentists

remove amalgams every single day and replace them with more amalgam?

But that's not dangerous, right? It's only dangerous if they replace

the old mercury filling with white composite? Come on!

 

Many dentists will remove amalgam if the patient requests it. The

problem is that not all are qualified. As Dr. Hansen explains in

some detail, the dangers of inhaling and ingesting old mercury

during the amalgam removal process can cause extremely serious

complications if attempted by a neophyte. In his book The Key To

Ultimate Health, Hansen also outlines the other services a holistic

or 'biologic' dentist can provide:

 

 

 

using lasers instead of drills to remove decay

 

cleaning and disinfecting cavitations and roots by laser

 

the use of new biocompatible filling materials which do not shrink

or expand, nor crack teeth

 

the importance of permanent materials which can actually bond to

living bone

as well as to dentin and enamel

 

 

In the burgeoning field of holistic dentistry, Hansen modernizes the

pioneering ideas of Weston Price and Hal Huggins. One idea is to

minimize or eliminate drilling. Hansen explains very thoroughly the

anatomy of teeth and the unnecessary long-term destruction that is

afforded by excessive drilling. Even small cavities often involve a

great portion of the tooth to be ground away in order to provide a

large enough surface for the amalgam or adhesive to stick to.

Instead of working wherever possible to preserve the structural

integrity of the teeth and jaw, standard dentistry seems to have

focused more on maximizing the invasiveness of the procedure

 

The idea that most root canals are unnecessary and that an inflamed

nerve should be cleaned and given a chance to heal – these notions

seem revolutionary, but have really been around for decades. Hansen

explains that most adult dental work is not the result of tooth

decay from refined carbohydrates, but rather is necessitated by

cracked and broken and leaking amalgams which have broken the teeth

down and provided places for pockets of bacterial fermentation to

take place.

 

Hansen's alternative to drilling is largely the use of special

lasers which can vaporize decay with " pinpoint accuracy " and

sterilize the area at the same time, without massive destruction by

drilling. Instead of toxic amalgam filling materials, Hansen employs

biocompatible glass filler, which permits overgrowth of original

dentin and bone, thereby providing a stable, permanent seal. Using

an argon laser, the tooth and the glass filling material are then

bonded permanently together. As for root canals, Hansen explains

that they can usually be avoided, again with the use of laser

disinfection and bio-friendly injected glass fillings.

 

It's amazing reading a book like Hansen's for the first time, and to

learn how little most people know about their teeth or about

standard dental procedures to which they have been submitting all

their lives. Though still in its infancy, holistic dentistry seems

to be opening up a level of awareness from which there can be no

return.

 

No more crowns or root canals? No more amalgams? I'm sure the ADA is

gonna love these new holistic cowboys. Imagine the economic

considerations. Yet for the first time perhaps, the focus is on the

long-term health of the patient rather than following the

doctrinaire pronouncements of a pseudo-religious trade union that

has been posing as a regulatory agency for the past century. Hansen

reminds us that all professions exist primarily for the clients they

serve, and not vice versa.

 

For a reality check, such innovations are not just going to suddenly

replace traditional dental procedures overnight. There will be a lot

of variability of insurance coverage for these new procedures. Many

of them will have to be paid for directly those patients who have

been sufficiently educated to appreciate their value long term. It

is the enlightened patient who will elect to pay for a procedure

which his policy doesn't cover, one who sees the paramount

importance of trying to save his teeth, omit excess drilling and

root canals, and avoid amalgams.

 

 

II. PRE-MEDICATION – MBAs RUNNING THE SHOW

 

The second area where we discover a serious problem with modern

American dentistry is the profligate use of antibiotics.

 

Remember that in the chapter entitled The Post-Antibiotic Age

(www.thedoctorwithin.com) we learned that the biggest medical

problem in this century, according to many mainstream medical

authorities, may well be antibiotic resistance. Because of decades

of overprescription and overuse of antibiotics for every little cold

and sniffle, we have created hundreds of species of Superbugs –

bacteria that can't be killed by any known antibiotics. We have

molded bacteria into those resistant mutations, because the only

ones that survived were the ones the drugs couldn't kill. Ten of

thousands of Americans are dying in hospitals every year because

they have some infection that doesn't respond to any known

antibiotic. One reason the future doesn't look bright is that in the

past 15 years, no truly new antibiotics have been invented. The new

ones that have come out are just derivations or modifications of the

ones we've had for years and years.

 

But most people don't know this. Most mothers don't know it. That's

why they keep taking their children to the doctor at the first sign

of the slightest sniffle or redness of ears. And if the doctor

doesn't prescribe antibiotics, the parent thinks the doctor's not

doing his job. So the parent takes the kid next door to whatever

doctor will give the prescription. And most parents don't even know

that antibiotics don't work on viral infections, which is what most

colds involve.

 

Into this whole mess, enter the dentist. It is an odd fact that as

much as 30% of dental patients are given a single 'bombing' dose of

amoxicillin before any routine dental work. Why? Politics and money.

The big scare is - we have the American Heart Association's

proclamation that there is a " risk " of a dental patient picking up

bacteria that may cause a rare heart disease called Subacute

Bacterial Endocarditis when the gums are made to bleed during the

dental procedures. In reality, catching the disease following dental

work is not quite that simple.

 

The first problem is that the bleeding gums are not sufficient

themselves to cause SBE. Most damage to gums following dental work

is in the form of a mild, self-limiting inflammation, possibly with

a little momentary bleeding. To cause SBE, the gums must become

infected from the dental work, and that is rare. Secondly, the

infective bacteria must travel through the blood and decide to set

up shop on the heart valves. For this to happen, the valves

generally must be abnormal to begin with. (Merck Manual, p. 1763)

Not a very likely scenario, but possible.

 

Such bacteria could also come from gastric or urinary infections;

the dental trauma is just one possibility.

 

So to prevent this one-in-a-million occurrence, the AHA and the

malpractice insurance people have got the American Dental

Association to proclaim that it's a good idea for the patient to get

a " precautionary " dose of antibiotics " just in case. " So they make

out a list of " risk " patients who should be given the antibiotic.

These include patients with

 

 

 

Valve replacements

History of SBE

 

Surgical shunts in heart

Rheumatic heart disease

 

Mitral valve prolapse

Enlarged heart

 

Any heart irregularity

 

- American Heart Association, June 1997

 

 

In addition, anyone who has had any joint replacements, pins, or

plates surgically implanted is also given the single dose of

amoxicillin prior to dental procedures. Even though the ADA's own

Guide to Dental Therapeutics, Appendix E states that such implants

are not an indication for single dose of " just in case " antibiotics,

in actual practice, these patients are routinely given the

antibiotic. Ask your dentist if this is true. And in most cases

patients have come to expect it. So even those dentists who think

it's a bad idea to pass out all these antibiotics, usually just cave

in and go along with what the patients expect. This insane state of

affairs persists even though everyone knows that a single dose of

amoxicillin couldn't possibly prevent or cure either SBE or

infection from a prosthetic implant.

 

Why not? Because according to Merck, standard courses of antibiotics

for SBE range from 2 to 6 weeks.

(17th Edition, p. 1767) Much worse than a placebo, these

single 'bomb' doses do nothing except contribute to antibiotic

resistance:

 

 

" Inadequate doses promote the development of resistance;

thereafter, even greatly increased doses may fail to control the

infection. "

 

- Merck, p 1103

 

 

What's happening here is that because of politics and insurance

guidelines, which are set up by non-medical people, dentists are

indiscriminately prescribing antibiotics far in excess of the

recommendations of the antibiotic manufacturers themselves. That's

what the Merck Manual is – manufacturer guidelines. Like the medical

doctor, struggling to keep abreast of HMO commandments for

prescribing drugs, dentists too have been cast into this role of

drug rep for the Big Boys.

 

People are brainwashed. Even when the dentist is not inclined to

give the antibiotic because he knows it won't have any possible

benefit, the patients are so used to getting their pill, that

they'll expect it. And they'll probably think the dentist is being

remiss if he forgets to offer it. Easier for the dentist to just go

along with the program. Nobody's going to object.

 

The discoverer of penicillin, the first antibiotic, was Alexander

Fleming. From the very beginning, Fleming saw immediately the danger

of abuse and overprescription of penicillin. (The Post Antibiotic

Age –

w w w.thedoctorwithin.com) Fleming saw the that these powerful

antibiotic drugs were for one thing only: life-threatening bacterial

infections. Though largely ignored, this principle still holds true

today.

 

 

III. THE FLUORIDE SCAM

 

In the Water chapter – www.thedoctorwithin.com - we saw tons of

referenced information on the stupidity of adding fluoride to city

water systems. We also uncovered the important role played by the

American Dental Association in promoting the lie that fluoride

protects teeth.

 

In that chapter, meticulous documentation is offered to support

these facts:

 

 

- the fluoride added to city water is a chemical byproduct of

aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons

manufacturing

 

- fluoride is the active toxin in rat poison

 

- fluoride ages humans and destroys organ systems be tearing down

enzymes which are

essential for these systems to operate:

 

 

the immune system

 

the digestive system

 

the respiratory system

 

blood circulation

 

kidney function

 

liver function

 

brain function

 

thyroid function

 

 

- fluoride can turn normal human cells in foreign protein,

triggering the autoimmune response, causing things like lupus,

arthritis, asthma, and arteriosclerosis

 

- fluoride is more poisonous than lead and just less poisonous than

arsenic

 

- a seven ounce tube of toothpaste contains enough fluoride to

theoretically kill a small child

 

- city water is fluoridated at 1 Part per million. This is enough to

destroy the DNA in human enzymes by 50%

 

- fluoride ages people by collagen breakdown

 

- fluoride confuses mineralization, putting minerals where they

don't belong, in ligaments tendons and muscles, and pulling minerals

out of where they do belong, like bones and teeth

 

- the reason most people don't know these scientifically

indisputable facts is because of decades of disinformation from the

EPA and the USPHS, whose members have close ties with the aluminum

industry

 

 

When teeth are demineralized, for whatever reason, doctors call this

dental fluorosis. Teeth get that mottled, spotted look and are prone

to crumble. The odd truth is that there is far more scientific

documentation proving that fluoride causes dental fluorosis than

there is proving it protects teeth. Before 1950, the ADA's own

research documented the hazards of fluoride exposure. One example

from Journal of the American Dental Association 1 Oct 44:

 

 

" the potentialities for harm far outweigh those for good "

 

 

and the article clearly associated fluoridated water with

osteoporosis, goiter, and spinal disease.

 

Also in the 1940s, an attorney named Oscar Ewing was hired by ALCOA,

the world's biggest manufacturer of aluminum. Remember, fluoride is

a toxic byproduct in that industry. OK. Now follow this: the United

States Public Health Service was a branch of the government agency

known as the Federal Security Administration. The USPHS made

policies about water safety. So guess who was suddenly promoted to

the Federal Security Administration? Oscar Ewing! This is how ALCOA

came to dictate water safety policy in the US.

 

But they needed a spin doctor to get the AMA, the American Dental

Association, and the general public to believe that a dangerous

industrial poison like fluoride could actually have a health

benefit. So whom did Ewing appoint in charge of PR, to help him

persuade people? Edward Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud!

 

Bernays' propaganda machine now went into full swing - ads with

smiling children with beautiful teeth flooded the country's media.

All anti-fluoride studies and articles were systematically

suppressed because they weren't sanctioned by the big lobbyists for

the aluminum and fertilizer industries. Tons of new literature

written not by doctors and scientists but by PR people and

psychologists portrayed those opposing the sacred fluoridation as

right-wing wackos. (Miller)

 

Dovetailing contemporaneously into all the above activity is some

mind-blowing information that was uncovered in 1998 by two reporters

commissioned to write an article for the Christian Science Monitor.

Working from secret government documents that had just become

declassified, Joel Griffiths and Chris Bryson have illuminated

another very scary liaison: fluoride and the Manhattan Project.

 

As we all remember, the Manhattan Project was the WWII secret

program which brought the atomic bomb into existence: Fat Man and

Little Boy. Turns out fluoride was a key component in the production

of this bomb, in two main applications: in the uranium complex

itself, and also as a toxic waste material. (Fluoride & Brain

Damage)

 

No one can intelligently discuss the fluoridation of American water

without coming to grips with the research of John Yiamouyiannis,

PhD. His book Fluoride the Aging Factor is a history of all

pertinent literature about the politics and science of fluoridation

up until 1993. Dr Y uncovered virtually every scientific study of

fluoride ever undertaken and patiently shows how the huge aluminum

companies like ALCOA as well as the nuclear arms manufacturers used

political influence to legislate a toxic waste into our water

supply, disguised as a health supplement.

 

Dr Y points out that the US fluoridation is the highest in the

world, at 62% of all cities. Few other countries are this stupid; in

Europe fluoridation is less than 2%.

 

Dr Y explains how scientists discovered that fluoride causes

osteoporosis the same way it causes dental fluoriorsis, or crumbling

of the teeth. Fluoride destroys the enzymes necessary to build bones

and teeth. In addition, fluoride precipitates calcium out of

solution, robbing the bones and teeth to get it, thereby creating a

true calcium deficiency. (Riggs)

 

Extensive research has also proven beyond a doubt that fluoride that

fluoride in water is a carcinogen, with studies form 19 major

universities showing the connection. (Dr Y, p 65)

 

Dr Y is not alone. Chief chemist of the National Cancer Institute,

Dr. Dean Burk, when confronted with mountains of the same data,

stated before Congress:

 

 

" In point of fact, fluoride causes more human cancer death, and

causes it faster than any other chemical. "

 

- Congressional Record 21 July 1976

 

 

Together Burk and Dr Y completed a national research project on

fluoride and cancer They found that:

 

 

" 30,000 to 50,000 deaths each year from various causes may now be

attributable to fluoridation. This total includes 10,000 to 20,000

deaths attributable to fluoride-induced cancer every year. "

 

 

 

- Yiamouyiannis. p 90

 

 

So where does the American Dental Association come in? Is it

possible they don't know any of this? Of course they do. Again,

don't be deluded into believing that the ADA accepts responsibility

for American dental health. Always remember - the ADA is a trade

union, a lobby whose main purpose is furthering the economic

advancement of its members. It doesn't represent dental health. And

in many cases the ADA doesn't represent the dentists themselves.

This is especially true in the class action suit filed by some 40

dentists against the ADA in a DC Superior Court. The charges?

Ethical breach of the public trust for recommending fluoridation

while failing to inform its members and the public of the widespread

available literature proving toxicity. (Foulkes)

 

The American Dental Association has a website which is a masterpiece

of disinformation: www.ada.org. At the beginning of the Fluoridation

Questions section, we find the standard fluoridiot disinformation

posture in which natural fluoride compounds that exist in many

places in nature are presented as the same fluoride which is added

to municipal water. This is unmitigated, deliberate, fraudulent

misrepresentation. The fluoride added to water is a toxic industrial

byproduct in a form nature could never have come up with. Once you

realize this simple fact, you will be able to see the rest of the

Website Whitewash in its proper light.

 

While you are reading the sections of this website, just remember

that the ADA is a trade lobby, whose mission is to assure people of

the safety and efficacy of a drug that is not safe and not

effective, so that the interests of its fellow trade lobbies from

the chemical industry are best served. The ADA is a mouthpiece for a

huge constituency. Their website is the modern manifestation of

Edward L. Bernays' program of disinformation and crowd control.

 

WHAT DO THE REAL EXPERTS SAY ABOUT FLUORIDATION?

 

 

" When historians come to write about this period, they will single

out [fluoridation] as the single biggest mistake in public policy

that we've ever had. "

 

 

- Paul Connett, PhD, Biochemistry

 

 

" Water fluoridation is the single largest case of scientific fraud,

promoted by the government, supported by taxpayer dollars, aided and

abetted by the ADA and the AMA, in the history of the planet. "

 

 

- David Kennedy, DDS President International Academy of Oral

Medicine and Toxicology

 

 

" Sodium fluoride is a registered rat poison and roach poison. It has

been a protected pollutant for a very long time. "

 

 

- William Hirzy, PhD President of the Union of Professional

Employees of the EPA

 

 

" sodium fluoride is a very toxic chemical, acting as an enzyme

poison, direct irritant and calcium inactivator .It reacts with

growing tooth enamel and with bones to produce irreversible damage. "

 

 

- Granville Knight, MD president of the American Academy of

Nutrition

 

Congressional Record, 31 July 56 (Robotry, p. 22)

 

 

" I am appalled at the prospect of using water as a vehicle for

drugs. Fluoride is a corrosive poison that will produce serious

effects on a long range basis. Any attempt to use water this way is

deplorable. "

 

 

- Charles Gordon Heyd, MD, president, AMA

 

 

" no physician in his right mind would hand to his patient a bottled

filled with a dangerous drug with instructions to take as much or as

little of it as he wished And yet, the Public Health Service is

engaged upon a widespread propaganda program to insist that

communities do exactly that The purpose of administering fluoride is

not to render the water supply pure and potable but to contaminate

it with a dangerous, toxic drug for the purpose of administering

mass medication to the consumer, without regard to age or physical

condition. "

 

 

- L. Alesen, MD, president of the California Medical Association

Robotry, p14

 

 

" Fluoridation is the greatest fraud that has ever been perpetrated

and it has been perpetrated on more people than any other fraud

has. "

 

 

- Albert Schatz, PhD Nobel Laureate for discovering streptomycin

quoted in Sutton's Fluoridation:The Greatest Fraud

 

 

" More people have died in the last 30 years from cancer connected

with fluoridation than all the military deaths in the entire history

of the United States. "

 

 

- Dean Burk, PhD National Cancer Institute

- Fluoridation:A Burning Controversy

 

 

" Fluoridation is the greatest case of scientific fraud of this

century, if not of all time. "

 

- EPA scientist, Dr. Robert Carton (Downey, 2 May 99)

 

 

 

 

Although the ADA knows the above information very well, as a

political machine, it is dissuaded from publicly changing its mind

for two reasons:

 

 

 

credibility

 

liability

 

 

If the ADA came out with a statement today that said, oh yeah,

fluoride actually is a dangerous poison, the cause of many diseases –

what would that mean with reference to their sacred contentions

over the past several decades about fluoride's safety and benefit

for dental health? Admit they were wrong? See how the ADA is in the

ridiculous position of being locked into a grave scientific error,

because of lawyers and insurance companies? Once the reader comes to

grips with this fact, pronouncements from this trade lobby may be

seen in their proper perspective.

 

_____________

 

As with most of the chapters from ww w.thedoctorwithin.com, the

above information is just a cursory look at some practices in modern

American dentistry, which are not apparent in Canada or in Europe.

True advances in science and in dentistry would be shared across

international boundaries, one would hope. But current dental

policies in this country regarding the above three topics –

amalgams, antibiotics, and fluoride – are not grounded or directed

by science.

 

It's the same behavior pattern that locked Galileo in the Tower of

Pisa for discovering that the earth went around the sun, or that

buried the work of Bechamp in favor of the theories of Pasteur, or

that force holistic cancer clinics to operate in Tijuana, or that

prevents your dentist from discussing these issues openly with you –

it's all about big money and government and keeping the truth from

people in a systematic fashion. Create the Conventional Wisdom, and

then maintain it by endless repetition in every media source

possible.

 

The other side of the coin is that small groups of dentists are

quietly coming together and beginning to offer a range of services

which are non-toxic and natural. As the average patient becomes more

informed about mercury toxicity, unnecessary root canals and

extractions, and the dangers of single dose antibiotics, such groups

of holistically minded dentists are going to be strategically poised

for that next little evolution in dental health – throwing off the

oppressive sludge of systematic poisoning that has enslaved the

American 'consciousness' for the past century. *****

 

© New West 2002

 

 

Return to Chapter List

 

 

 

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_________________

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes