Don't Let Them Pull Out Your Teeth!

Because tooth and gum disease is ubiquitous with gluten sensitive individuals, many people have to make serious decisions about the care of their teeth. 

Here James Hepburn relates his story about gum disease and has given permission to print his whole article. His story is shocking but very common.

The moral of his example is do your homework, and find out if there are low invasive alternatives and more natural treatments. To do this, find articles on the internet or go to legitimate websites like www.GAPSdiet.com or www.westonaprice.org especially http://www.westonaprice.org/dentistry. Or, for dental problem, contact a biological dentist.

For this or any other health problem, contact a physician who does natural, integrative or functional medicine, or the head of your local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation chapter.

 

THU JAN 31, 2013 AT 11:20 AM PST
Don't Let Them Pull Out Your Teeth

byJames HepburnFollow



UPDATE: You have my full permission to reprint, distribute, or in any way copy and reuse this post in its entirety. In fact, I strongly encourage you to do so.

I've been putting off sharing this story for months now because I'm not wild about discussing a personal medical condition publicly. But the information I am about to tell you could have a monumental impact on millions of people's lives. If that sounds exaggerated to you, read further and you will see why.

And if you, or anyone you know, suffers from gum disease (according to the Center for Disease Control, half of all Americans do - some studies put that number up to 75%) then you need to send them this story. It will probably save them their teeth, a lot of money, and a huge amount of suffering.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with an advanced case of gum disease. I was showingpocket depths of 9s and 10s. Many of my teeth were actually loose. And it had become painful to eat certain foods.

My periodontist told me that in order to stop it from getting worse, I had to have as many as seven teeth pulled. Seven teeth! And, even with my insurance, it was going to cost many thousands of dollars.

The implications of this were devastating to me. Life-changing in some respects. As anyone with false teeth will tell you, it's not a happy situation. From limiting what foods you eat, to actually altering your social behavior - including the way you smile - losing your teeth is no small affair.

Curiously, during one of my many consultations, it was explained to me that gum disease is actually the result of a bacterial infection. So my first thought was, surely, there must be an antibiotic treatment. But my periodontist said no. Sometimes they use a topical antibiotic, like a gel, to help arrest the spread of infection, but there was no pill you could take like you would for, say, strep throat.

So, I sought a second opinion. Then another. All had the same bad news. 'There is no antibiotic treatment and we're going to have to rip out your teeth with pliar-like things and charge you big bucks to do it.' Or something to that effect.

I was incredulous. What century is this? How, in this day and age, could we be condemned to such barbary? Don't we have antibiotics for everything? Surely someone was at least working on it. So I decided to search scientific journals for "antibiotic treatment for gum disease."

Immediately, I found this: The nonsurgical treatment of patients with gum disease: results after five years. by Walter J. Loesche et al. (link)

I am not exaggerating when I say my heart jumped a beat. Could there be hope? I clicked on the link and saw this:

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In a previous study involving patients seen at the dental clinic of the Detroit Receiving Hospital, the authors found that 87 percent of teeth initially recommended for surgery or extraction were spared those treatments by a combination of debridement [cleaning] and short-term usage of antimicrobial agents. The objective of the present study was to determine how long the surgery-sparing benefits of less invasive treatment would persist.

METHODS: Ninety of these patients were scheduled for maintenance therapy at three-month intervals over a five-year period. They were evaluated periodically for surgical needs by a clinician who was not aware of the nonsurgical gum treatment the patient had received.

RESULTS: The initial treatment benefits were sustained, as the number of teeth needing periodontal surgery or extraction was 0.06 teeth per patient after 1.1 year, 0.22 after 2.3 years, 0.51 after 3.6 years and 0.86 after 5.1 years.

CONCLUSIONS: A noninvasive treatment regimen for an anaerobic infection in teeth seriously compromised by gum disease resulted in a reduced need for surgery or tooth extraction for at least five years after completion of the initial treatment. [Emphasis added]Could this be true? And who is this Walter Loesche guy? And if it really works, how come three different periodontists didn't appear to have heard of him or his work? So I looked him up. According to his bio at the University of Michigan:

He received his B.A. from Yale University in 1957, his D.M.D. from Harvard School of Dental Medicine in 1961, a periodontal certificate from Harvard-Forsyth in 1964, and his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1967.

...

He has published three textbooks, over 170 peer-reviewed articles, and over 50 chapters and invited reviews. He has "served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Periodontal Research, Clinical Microbiology, the Journal of Oral Microbiology and Immunology, and Anaerobe and served as president of the.I've since learned that

"he was appointed the Marcus L Ward Professor in Dentistry and received honorary degrees from the University of Goteborg, Sweden, the University of Ghent, Belgium and the University of Turku, Finland. In 1988 Dr. Loesche served as the president of the American Association of Dental Research and received the Distinguished Scientist Award in 1994."The more I learned about Dr. Loesche, the more I realized that he wasn't some obscure researcher, but one of the most renowned scientists in his field. And the more I learned about his published work, the more bizarre it became that none of my periodontists were familiar with his antibiotic approach to treatment of gum disease.

As I said, one of my periodontists told me that gum disease was the result of a bacterial infection. But, it actually turns out, that my periodontist probably knew that because of the work of Walter Loesche. He was the one who, more than any other, led this field of research in identifying gum disease as a bacterial infection and pioneered its treatment as such.

Regardless, I can't express how much hope this gave me. Here was a scientist with bona fides out the yahoo who claimed that he had successfully treated gum disease with drugs. I emailed Dr. Loesche at once. I explained my situation, and asked if he could recommend a drug treatment. This is what he told me to do:

* Get your teeth cleaned (in my case this involved a full scaling which I had already had done).

* Then get your Dr. to prescribe Azithromycin 500mg.

* Take one a day for 3 days. Then stop for 4 days. Then resume for 3 more days.

So I called periodontist #3 and told her about the Loesche treatment, sent her supporting documents from the Journal of the American Dental Association, among others, and her response was very positive. "I'll try anything." she said. So she wrote the script and scheduled me to return in thirty days for a progress report.

"It's a miracle!" Those were her exact words. "I've never seen this before."

As I write this, two years have passed since contacting Walter Loesche and taking Azithromycin. On my last regular checkup my dentist informed me I have no signs of active gum disease. I still have all my teeth. My pocket depths went from 9s and 10s down to 3s and 4s (still not great, but not in crisis either). My teeth are no longer remotely loose or sore. And I can eat anything I want.

This is Where it Gets Political

I find it simply impossible to believe that the periodontal establishment is unaware of the breakthrough of antibiotic treatment following the work of Dr. Loesche and others. The groundbreaking study I linked to above, which proved the superior effectiveness of antibiotic treatment, was published in 2002. There were other such studies, published in top journals, showing similar results going back into the early 1990s.

And yet, yesterday, in preparing to write this post, I contacted eight periodontists' offices in my area. In each, I spoke to the senior hygienist on staff. And each denied ever hearing of systemic antibiotic treatment.

I personally was was quoted roughly $12,000 to get my teeth extracted. [Edit: As a commenter pointed out, you can get teeth pulled for a lot cheaper. I called my periodonist's office and his assistant suggested that price probably included bone grafts to prepare for implants and may have included some bridge work.].

My antibiotic treatment cost me $15.

Is this why none of the periodontists I saw knew about antibiotic treatment? The tooth extraction business is big bucks. So is the tooth replacement business. Depending on which study you cite, Americans alone spend tens of billions of dollars on periodontal treatment each year - most of that getting teeth extracted and replaced with dentures etc.

Walter Loesche, in one of his papers, spoke of not just an alternative treatment, but a new paradigm - one that replaces the barbaric method of removing patients' teeth with one that treats the underlying cause.

What Dr. Loesche didn't mention, however, was that this new paradigm threatens to practically collapse a multibillion dollar industry. If gum disease can be caught in the early stages, and treated with antibiotics prescribed by a normal dentist (which it can), then why do we even periodontists?

So while I'm not suggesting that there's some plot among the periodontal establishment to suppress the use of antibiotic treatment, there certainly appears to be little incentive for them to embrace it.

As such, perhaps it will take the power of the internet to inform patients that there's an antibiotic treatment to gum disease. And while there's no guarantee that everyone's treatment will be as successful as mine has been, everyone should at least have the opportunity to try it first. Pulling out someone's teeth should be an absolute last resort after all other treatments have been applied.

So, again, if you know someone with gum disease, and you almost certainly do, please send them this article, have them talk it over with their dentist, periodontist, or doctor, and help them save their teeth. The periodontal industry can find another way to make money.

More Information

For further information on the work of Walter Loesche and colleagues at his U. Michigan page, go here and click on the lefthand menu "Publications."

Here is a groundbreaking paper from 2001 that is not behind a paywall. According to Google Scholar it has been cited 192 times.

Anyone seeking more information may also just search Pubmed or Google Scholar for "antibiotic treatment periodontal disease" without the quotation marks.

Similarly, a normal Google search for "Walter Loesche" without the quotes will also immerse you in a sea of useful information.



ORIGINALLY POSTED TO JAMES HEPBURN ON THU JAN 31, 2013 AT 11:20 AM PST.
ALSO REPUBLISHED BY J TOWN.

TAGS
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by TaboolaFROM THE WEB

Waffles For Shrove Tuesday by Beyond Celiac

Suzanne at Beyond Celiac has a great waffle recipe. It's a gluten free Paleo recipe (which fits the GAPS diet).

This is a picture of her heirloom waffle iron.

Lots of people will be having pancakes or waffles today. If you are try this recipe. It is good for any day, of course.

To your health
Dr.Barbara

Delivery, Breast Feeding Effect Type of Newborn's Gut Microbiota

Now we have more proof that the gut and the organisms living in it, collectively called the "super organ", is the source of health. Bad gut bugs, bad health.

The mental health issues and symptoms and illness that occur with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity occur from the damaged bowel and the abnormal organisms that live there. 
If you have illness from gluten sensitivity, there are unhealthy organisms growing in the bowel. It is important to heal the gut by eliminating bad organisms in the bowel and encourage healthy probiotics, to become well and ameliorate symptoms especially the ones not related to the bowel.

To heal the gut and restore normal gut microbiota, I suggest a Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet which starves the bad and encourages the healthy gut bacteria.  In practice, it really works.

Scientists are still trying to figure out for sure, how the bad bacteria colonize the bowel of a newborn.There are previous studies that show C/S births, mother taking the birth control pill and formula feeding of infants leads to abnormal gut bacteria. See my article called "Baby inherits gut dysbiosis from Mother.

Here another study reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, February 11, 2013,  confirms infants born by caesarean delivery lacked a group of bacteria common in the stool of infants delivered vaginally, even if they were breastfed. The study suggests how the choice of feeding formula could explain disease - susceptibility later in life. 

One very disturbing finding is the over representation of C. Difficile in the stool of formula fed infants. C. Difficile is linked to asthmas, allergy and mental health issues.

Read an excerpt from CBCNEWS:

"Decisions regarding C-section delivery will influence the development of the infant's gut microbiome, with potential lifelong impact on health," study author Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj, of the University of Alberta said in an email.

It could be that C-section physically prevents newborns from acquiring microbes they would during vaginal births, Kozyrskyj said.

C. difficile bacteria that are associated with infections, allergy and asthma were over represented in infants fed formula.

"Infants born by caesarean delivery are at increased risk of asthma, obesity and Type 1 diabetes, whereas breastfeeding is variably protective against these and other disorders," researchers wrote.

"Our findings are particularly timely given the recent affirmation of the gut microbiota as a "super organ" with diverse roles in health and disease, and the increasing concern over rising cesarean delivery and insufficient exclusive breastfeeding in Canada."

If you have gluten sensitivity, and health problems, even if it is ever so slight, go on a GAPS diet.This diet has been research and successfully used by pioneers like Dr. Haas (1950's), Elaine Gottschall (1970's-2000's) who called it the specific carbohydrate diet. And fine tuned with modern understandings of nutritional sciences by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. There are many imitators.  

That's the start, then find and correct nutritional deficiencies, get your Homocysteine level to 8 or below, and get your vitamin D levels in the anti-viral, anti-cancer range which is over 120 nmol/l. And find and treat auto-immune disorders like hypothyroidism.

To your Health

Dr. Barbara

Celiac Caused By Other Proteins in Grains- GLO-3A

There has been vigorous scientific study of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity in the last few years. These studies continue to confirm that there may be as many of 400 different proteins, non-gluten, in grains that cause celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. And by extension, to heal, it confirms the use of a specific carbohydrate diet or Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet which is free of grains.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, the researchers studied a non-gluten storage protein in wheat, Glo-3A ( antibodies for Glo-3A are found in persons suffering from celiac disease).Thinking that these antibodies could be used to diagnose celiac disease, they found that they could infact diagnose celiac disease earlier than using the traditional serum TtG IgA.

Dr. Osborne at Glutenfreesociety, writes about the immune response to toxic grain proteins and about this study of Glo-3A in children at high risk of developing celiac disease:

Immune Response to Non Gluten Protein

The protein is called Glo-3A. It is a non gluten storage protein found in wheat.

Production of antibodies to Glo-3A is being studied as a marker to help in earlier diagnosis of gluten issues. In a study of children at high risk of developing the celiac disease, which attacks cells lining the small intestine, high levels of antibodies to Glo-3A were detectable in blood earlier than antibodies to tissue transglutaminase (TTG), a serologic marker frequently used to diagnose celiac disease.

“The present study shows that higher levels of Glo-3A antibodies are associated with celiac disease both at the time of clinical diagnosis and before that point,”

Glo-3A antibody production in the celiac group appeared, on average, about 2 years before TTG antibodies were detectable, at around age 3 versus age 5 for TTG antibodies.

The researchers in this study suspect that Glo-3A antibody production is a biomarker of impaired immune tolerance and increased gut permeability, i.e., celiac disease.
When diagnosing celiac disease, health care providers typically screen patients’ blood for the presence of TTG antibodies. TTG is an enzyme that alters the gliadin molecule by deamidating glutamine residues; these residues in turn bind to antigen presenting cells and activate T cells, leading to damage to the finger like cells called villi that line the small intestine. Over time, the cellular damage, known as villous atrophy, leads to malabsorption of food, gastrointestinal bloating, and diarrhea. But by the time TTG antibodies are detectable, villous atrophy has often already begun—prompting scientists to look for diagnostic tools that allow earlier diagnosis.

“These results may indicate that the immune pathology and subsequent damage that are characteristic of celiac disease start early in life”

You may have initially got better eating a traditional gluten free diet only to plateau or been told you have another autoimmune condition. Traditional gluten free diets that are not grain free, still expose you to toxic, non gluten, celiac promoting proteins. These proteins protect the grains from destruction by digestion, and to allow for wide distribution and propagation.
This study is one of many studies that have shown that grains contribute to disease processes.

In a future blog, I will describe the multiple toxic prolamines, also non-gluten proteins, found in grains.

I recommend a specific carbohydrate diet, updated by Dr. Campbell-McBride and called a GAPS diet.
For as long as it takes to clear up even the most minor problems, as these are signs of chronic inflammation, and chronic inflammation is the cause of most chronic illness of Western Societies including cancer.

All people are at risk of celiac disease. There is no constellation of symptoms or signs that is reliable for a clinical diagnosis. Get tested. If you don't have the money even for the genetic testing at www.enterolab.com  ,go on a GAPS diet and see how you do. Then as soon as possible get tested.

I don't know what to recommend if you don't have any gluten sensitivity or celiac genes. The evidence of the dangers to health of eating grains is enormous. But are there different "metabolic types" and some people can eat some small amounts of whole grains? I think so. But this is a subject for another day.

To your health

Dr. Barbara

Eat Good Fats and Get Healthy-Sally Fallon Video

Yes, eat good fats and get healthy. People with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity need even more good fats because of the common problem of not having enough cholesterol or triglycerides in the blood to support healthy cells and cell function. Read about cholesterol in a previous blog post.

But what is a good fat? What is a saturated fat, an unsaturated fat?

What is the difference between margarine and butter?

Is cholesterol something to be worried about?

Here is an excellent video of Sally Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Pottinger Foundation, explaining the history of one change in our diets from a traditional diet. The video is called "The Oiling of America" and based on Dr. Enig's work in research in fats.

The DVD is 2 hours long. I hope you find the time to watch all of it. Enjoy. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvKdYUCUca8

To your health.

Dr. B

Heal Your Gut To Make More Serotonin, and Feel Better

Yes, your bowel makes more serotonin than your brain does and some people call the bowel your second brain because it has more serotonin receptors too, than your brain. I have helped to resolve many peoples symptoms of anxiety, depression, learning disability, irritability and paranoia with focusing on healing the bowel, first. If you have been reading my blog, you know I mean the GAPS diet. The science that shows there is an association with improper growth of organisms (called dysbiosis) in the bowel and illness is very strong. There are many causes of dysbiosis: vitamin D deficiency, mother's use of birth control, birth by C/S, use of antibiotics without enough probiotics, stress, refined carbohydrates in the diet especially wheat, toxins in our food and drinking water, and foods that are devoid of healthy bacteria (diets without naturally fermented foods). So you see normal life in a western society can easily lead to dysbiosis.

And the consequences of the damaged bowel, and there are many: poor absorption of nutrients, mental health issues from mild to severe, autoimmune disorders, inflammation and more. A short list  and the remedies are listed here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/18/mcbride-and-barringer-interview.aspx

Here is a quote from the same article:

Your gut serves as your second brain, and even produces more serotonin—known to have a beneficial influence on your mood—than your brain does. It is also home to countless bacteria, both good and bad. These bacteria outnumber the cells in your body by at least 10 to one, and maintaining the ideal balance of good and bad bacteria forms the foundation for good health—physical, mental and emotional.
Most disease originates in your digestive system. This includes both physical and mental disease. Once you heal and seal your gut lining, and make your digestive system work properly again, disease symptoms will typically resolve
The GAPS protocol is designed to restore the integrity of your gut lining by providing your body with the necessary building blocks needed for health enterocyte reproduction, and restoring balance to your gut flora. Basic dietary details are included.

But the good news is that the bowel can be healed, in your own home, without toxic chemicals or expensive therapeutic medical expenses.

One of the super healing foods is Sauerkraut and here is one of my articles on Sauerkraut and a super easy recipe for it:

To your health,

Dr. B

Dr. Russell Blaylock on Dangers of Aspartame MSG - YouTube

THIS SHOULD BE REQUIRED VIEWING FOR EVERYBODY !!

Many people with or without gluten induced diseases may be purposefully avoiding sugar and ingesting foods with "no added sugar" only to be exposed to Aspartame. Or just chose foods not knowing what it is made of or where it came from.

Aspartame and MSG are neurotoxins and should be avoided.

Dr. Russell Blaylock MD, is a respected doctor who writes the Blaylockreport where you can find health and nutrition information that can save your life.

In this lecture Dr Blaylock explains one of the most common and important connections between nutrition and our health, how nutrition affects our behaviour, and the detrimental effects of excitotoxins Aspartame and MSG, Citing a series of important studies, he shows that good nutrition can powerfully enhance our memory, mood and behaviour in a socially desirable way. Like wise he shows us that poor nutrition can lead our youth into a world of violence, crime, depression and suicide.

Here is a must see video on YouTube by Dr. Blaylock.

If the link doesn't work you can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEq3SzHI1Mw

To your health

Dr. B