YOUR TEETH ARE PART OF YOUR BODY

The oral cavity is the dirtiest (by bacteria count) part of the body. In addition, there are the issues of mercury/silver fillings, nickel crowns, bio-incompatible dental materials, electrogalvanism/dissimilar metals, dead teeth (root canals), residual jaw infections (cavitations), etc., all of which can be additive in their effects on the rest of the body. In addition, the major organ acupuncture meridians flow through the region of the oral cavity and the teeth affect these organs at a distance through their effects on the associated meridian/energy pathways. Recently, there have even been numerous magazine and newspaper articles as to how gum disease can influence potential heart attacks strokes, etc. Therefore, the health of our mouth is crucial to our overall health, as our body is all one piece.

Dentistry is not an exact science

- Dentistry is an art form, and every dentist develops their personally unique way of "practicing" dentistry. For me, my personal conception of the practice of dentistry began when I was 14 years old and working as a part time dental assistant. At this time, in the early 60's, the technology of mixing mercury/silver, amalgam fillings was to add the liquid mercury from a dispensing vial to the powdered metal phase and to then mix the two components in an "amalgamator" device to incorporate the mercury into a mixture, or amalgamation, with the other metals. The resulting proportions were approximately 50% mercury, 30% silver, and the rest varying percentages of zinc, copper, and tin. (similar percentages as modern day amalgams) The amalgam was then squeezed by the assistant in a cotton "squeeze cloth" to express the excess mercury from the mix (no gloves were used in 1962) into a jar to be stored in a "safe place". Invariably, some mercury would be spilled onto the counter top. In the process of wiping the mercury globules across the table top into the jar, I would play with the globules, separating and recombining them, although the dentist I worked for would tell me not to touch the mercury.

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