[Editors Note: The following quotations are from a recent article entitled "Oral Reports" in The Sciences, pages 25-39, Nov-Dec 2000. The authors were Robert J. Genco (dentist and immunologist at SUNY, Buffalo), Frank A. Scannapieco (dentist and microbiologist at SUNY, Buffalo), and Harold C. Slavkin (Dean of USC School of Dentistry and former Director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of NIH). Bio-Probe is grateful to Dr. Chester Yokoyama of IAOMT for providing this article.]

OR: (p. 26, col. 1) "Investigators have made a startling discovery: the state of the teeth and gums turns out to be integrally related to the health of the entire body."

BP: What an amazing revelation! This heretic position flies in the face of the various dental boards, who persist in disciplining biological dentists for "practicing medicine without a license." Leaders of organized dentistry have persistently taken the position that dentists are not qualified to consider the systemic health consequences of the treatment that they render to their patients.

Dentistry has long been functioning independently of the rest of the medical profession. This unfortunate situation has resulted in dentistry being focused on technical quality, rather than health. In a proper prospective, dentistry should be a specialty within the medical profession. Every dental school should have biologists and toxicologists on staff. Hopefully, this trend has begun.

OR: (p. 26, col. 2) "Oral bacteria release toxic products that damage gum tissue, but the harm the bacteria cause directly is nothing compared with the destruction they induce the body to inflict on itself." - and - (p. 30, col. 2) "In the future, dentists may also take on part of the management of diabetes, screen patients for heart disease and monitor the patients' calcium levels."

BP: This statement is, of course, based on solid published research, much of which is cited in the article. As this position becomes more accepted throughout the medical community, (some) dentists will assume their proper role as specialists in "Oral Medicine and Toxicology." This brings us to -

OR: (p. 25, col. 2) "After centuries of incremental advances, however, dentistry is on the brink of exponential change. the profession is moving away from the construction paradigm - building bridges and crowns, filling holes - and into the realm of molecular biology and biotechnology."

BP: To see this in print, written by establishment dentists, is very gratifying. Long years of struggle and sacrifice by biological dentists may be reaching fruition. Some dental organizations, almost entirely alternative, have been taking this approach for years. Members of these organizations will benefit, while traditional "drill and fill" dentists will either fall by the wayside or become technicians employed by dentists competent in oral medicine and toxicology.

Dentists must decide for themselves which course they would like to take. Graduation from dental school and passing the state board may no longer be sufficient. Even membership alone in one or more of the alternative dental organizations will probably be insufficient. Dentists must avail themselves of the meetings and other educational opportunities offered by these organizations.

Further, biological dentists must commit themselves and their practices to the standards of care developed by these organizations, especially regarding periodontal therapy. However, care must be taken to ensure that these standards are based on documented evidence. The paradigm has not yet fully shifted in the minds of the dental boards.

Source: BioProbe Newsletter

Also make sure to read these books: Poison in Your Teeth: Mercury Amalgam (Silver) Fillings...Hazardous to Your Health! and Mercury Detoxification by Tom McGuire