If anyone told me six years ago that the wisdom teeth my dentist kept nagging me about to pull out for no real reason were going to be the start of six years of horrific health issues I would have laughed in your face.  I put 100% trust and faith in my doctors prior to getting sick, all of my doctors! So, when my dentist told me it would be an easy extraction in his office with local anesthetic and I didn’t have to have oral surgery to do this, I trusted him.  It sounded easy enough.  He kind of talked me into the idea that yes, it probably was time to take them out.  I was thirty-one and most of my friends had this done in high school.  It was time.

 

He extracted all four of my wisdom teeth in his office the following week and it was as easy as he promised.  The recovery was brutal however.  A week of around the clock Tylenol and Motrin and lots of swelling.  Life pretty much resumed as normal after that until I got mononucleosis out of the blue a week later.  Mono is a viral infection I’m very familiar with as I had it twice before.  This is more rare than common to get more than once, especially in your adult years.  Fast forward one year with getting a minimal dose of Botox injections for cosmetic purposes in my forehead and a one-year journey of botulism.  Fast forward even more and then a Lyme disease diagnosis.  In between those two very aggressive infections were multiple health struggles….

 

I don’t know if my wisdom teeth extraction is the sole reason of my health decline the past 6 years but looking back on the timeline and digging into years of research and now back in school attaining my functional diagnostic degree, I know that there is a link with oral health and your immune system.  Some doctors claim that the mouth is the root to all disease……

 

The three main oral dangers are Cavitations, Root canals, and Amalgams!

 

The oral connection can be hard to make.  I never had any major dental work done and have been blessed with really great teeth! I’ve had four cavities in my whole life! Three of them had an amalgam filling.  Then six years ago had my wisdom teeth removed in my dentist’s office while awake. I never had any direct correlation to tell me my wisdom teeth removal sites were harboring so much infection that it was growing up my jaw bones…no mouth pain, swelling…nothing.  What I did have is ongoing sore throats, sinus issues, constant headaches and stomach issues.  I do have Lyme disease so these issues could also be related to that infection or the nagging unrelenting allergies that I’ve developed here in the Midwest.  We have no way of really knowing, but, looking at a meridian line of these wisdom teeth sockets and my health complaints I was willing to give it a shot and look into the oral journey and its connection to disease.  I mean, at this point in my health and the tens of thousands I’ve already shelled out…. what’s another couple thousand, right?!

 

Disclaimer:  I’ve never had a root canal so I’m going to refrain from adding this into my article, but from my research and talking to several specialized dentists, root canals are a big source of bacteria harboring dental procedures. If I had a root canal, they would have been reversed along with all my other dental work.

 

 

Where do you start with fixing your oral health?

 

I started with changing my dentist!  Does anyone know what a holistic dentist is?  They recognize and are trained in holistic health care.  They recognize the mouth body connection and uphold that in their dental practice.

 

“Holistic dentistry, also referred to as biologic dentistry, is an alternative approach that focuses on the use of non-toxic restorative materials for dental work and emphasizes the unrecognized impact that dental toxins and dental infections may have on a person’s overall health.”

 

These dentists can be harder to come by but are in most states now!  And, drum roll please……………. most accept insurance!!!!!  If your used to visiting alternative or specialized health care practitioner’s you are used to them not prescribing to insurance.  This was a treat for my family.  And, yes, even my children now see my holistic dentist.

 

What are Amalgam fillings and why are they such a health risk?

 

(First pic is of me with Dental Dam, nasal oxygen, and sunglasses.  Second pic is of the high volume evacuator.  Third of the dental assistant.  It’s all about protection!)

 

“Dental amalgam is a dental filling material used to fill cavities caused by tooth decay.  It’s been used for over 150 years in hundreds of millions of patients all over the world. This filling is a mixture of metals consisting of liquid(elemental) mercury and a powdered alloy composed of silver, tin and copper. 

The chemical properties of elemental mercury allow it to react with and bind together the silver/copper/tin alloy particles to form amalgam.”

 

Over 40% of the population still have amalgam fillings in their mouths.  I think it’s safe to say that not many dentists use this material to fill cavities anymore but still some do and should not be used without caution.  They are actually banned in other countries.

 

This is a fairly new discovery for health concerns and something the FDA (food and drug administration) and ADA (American dental association) does not acknowledge but more and more attention is being brought to the topic from doctors and health care agencies and the evidence is quickly being stacked against them.  The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT), along with several other groups recently filed suit against the FDA seeking an order to require a response to all the petitions brought before them in 2009 calling for a formal ban on dental amalgam.

 

Griffin Cole, DDS, and president of the IAOMT stated,

“We have banned mercury in disinfectants, thermometers, and many other consumer products…There is no magic formula that makes mercury safe when its put into our mouths.  It’s inexcusable to use mercury fillings when there are much safer alternatives.”

 

Dr.  Hal Huggins, DDS, MS, was the world’s most controversial dentist because of his stand on trying to convince the dental industry to stop the use of amalgam fillings.  He had been in practice since 1962!  He received a post-doc Master’s at the university of Colorado with the emphasis on immunology/toxicology in 1990.  He was a pioneer for treating autoimmune diseases caused by dental toxins and has personally treated over 5,000 toxic patients.  His work included years of blood research to correlate the toxicity levels of patients with amalgam fillings and connecting that with certain diseases.

I have read many of his research findings and watched many of his videos.  The information and research he’s conducted is very eye-opening and hard to ignore.  Many doctors now work under the training and guidance of Dr. Huggins.  My Dental surgeon in particular (I will be talking about this later on).  Although Dr. Huggins has recently passed his work is still being executed and built on.

 

So why are they so bad for our health?

 

Mercury is highly toxic! The vapors of mercury in these fillings are easily released each time you eat, drink and brush your teeth. Research shows that mercury vapors readily pass through cell membranes, across your blood brain barrier, and into your central nervous system where it can cause neurological and immunological problems.

With a cancer rate of 1 in 2 people today and auto-immunity conditions through the roof, this is one area we are able to control and one less contribution to our bodies toxicity levels if we choose to get them safely removed.   Why burden our health with unnecessary toxins if we don’t have to?!

The removal of these highly toxic fillings should not be done lightly.  They should only be removed safely with a certified technician.  The two biggest exposure risks with mercury fillings is when getting them implanted and then extracted.  To lower the risk of mercury exposure when getting them removed your certified dentist will have a high-volume evacuator, and provide you with an alternative source of air, use of a dental dam, and have an air purification system in place.  I was terrified to get this done but was actually no big deal!  This was a one-hour appointment to remove all three of my amalgam fillings and replace them with safe alternatives.  I don’t remember having any immediate health benefits but since then my health recovery has progressed.

 

 

What are Cavitations?

 

A cavitation is a hole in the bone, often where a permanent tooth has been removed and the bone has not filled in properly.  In the last several years, the term cavitation has been used to describe various bone lesions which appear both as empty holes in the jawbones and holes filled with dead bone and bone marrow.  Dead, cavitational areas, which produce pain, are now called NICO (Neuralgia inducing Osteonecrosis).  Cavitations are often a result of either ischemic osteonecrosis, due to poor blood flow in the marrow, or a traumatic bone cyst.

 

(Pictures from my CT scan the day before surgery. )

 

So, in other words, a cavity is a hole in the tooth and a cavitation is a hole in the bone.

 

Who is at risk for these? Anyone with permanently extracted teeth or root canals, regardless of a chronic illness.  Why does this happen?  In a nut shell, most dentists do not pull the whole tooth and ligament out so the body is confused.  Typically, when a tooth is pulled with the ligament theoretically the body will fill in the space in the bone where the tooth once was.  But, when the membrane is left behind, incomplete healing takes place and a hole with a spongy type consistency gets left behind. What’s inside these holes is very troubling and problematic for the whole body.  Inside these cavitations, bacteria flourish and deviant cells multiply!  Research has demonstrated that all Root canals result in even more infectious areas and health concerns because of the imperfect seal that allows bacteria to penetrate.

 

Cavitations are a less talked about topic in the dental industry but one that is starting to increase!  Cavitations can happen in any bone in the body but most commonly in the jaw.   This topic of oral health is on the rise because disease and health epidemics are on the rise.  Lyme disease is now more common than breast cancer and HIV.  One in two people will now get cancer.  One in three people now have an autoimmune disease. What is a common thread with all of these?  Hidden infections!  When our systems are over- burdened with infection, whether its bacterial, viral, parasitic or fungal and isn’t tended to then disease takes hold.  There are of course many other things at play but from my experience hidden infections are the biggest.  As a Lyme disease warrior, I’m very familiar with all sorts of infections. I’ve dealt with parasites, yeast over growth, chronic viral infections, multiple bacterial infections and most recently my cavitations.

 

Does the cavitation come first and then illness or does the illness come first and then the body can’t heal the bone correctly?  There are some differing opinions on this!  Studies do show though that there is most definitely a link between major health issues and cavitations.

 

One study of cavitation evidence involved an analysis of 112 randomly selected dental patients.  The patients were tested for cavitations, with patient age ranging from 19-83 years among 40 males and 72 females.  The cavitations were tested using exploratory drilling.  Cavitations were found in approximately 75% of all wisdom teeth extraction sites. Another study done by Bob Jones, the inventor of the CAVITAT-an ultrasound instrument designed to detect and image cavitation’s that has been approved by the FDA and undergoing FDA clinical trials, found cavitations of various sizes and severity in approximately 94% of several thousand wisdom teeth sites scanned.  Jones also found cavitations under or located near 90% of root canaled teeth scanned.

 

Most all dentists and doctors utilizing correction of cavitations and root canals claim huge illness reversal and resolution to chronic health complaints.  Many researchers today believe that cavitations and periodontal disease are the focus of various infections which may spread throughout the body and have systemic effects.  Medical research has discovered that oral bacteria appear to be very influential in causing various heart, liver, kidney, and immune problems.  A collaborative study done by the North Carolina Institute of technology, using advanced tests developed by affinity laboratory, demonstrated the mechanism by which cavitations can cause cancer.  Modern experiences also support this theory!

(One day prior to my Cavitation Surgery, Meeting Dr. Nunnally for the first time.  This man is one of the sweetest and most thorough Doctors I’ve ever worked with.  The day of surgery I was very panicked and emotional, he took my hands and prayed over me while I was dozing off.) 

How do you know you have a cavitation?  My holistic dentist used a 3D cone beam scan and my Surgeon used a CT scan.  The cavitation appears as a shadow on the scan and can be missed by doctors that are not familiar with them.  Once scanned I made an appointment with my dentists suggested local holistic surgeon.  I was not comfortable with him after meeting him and decided to look around.  After much research I decided to go with Dr. Nunnally in Texas.  This choice was based on long-term success rates, cost, and practice.  Dr. Nunnally performs this surgery far better than any other doctor in my opinion.  Many cavitation surgeries have a high recurrence rate because they aren’t closed and cleaned up properly and the immune system isn’t prepped appropriately. Dr. Nunnally uses Vit. C IV drips for three days, ozone, platelets and stem cells to fill in the surgical spaces. The recovery period has been amazing with very little pain and swelling!  Although I’m only a week out from my surgery I’m extremely hopeful that this will provide immense healing to my body!

 

(One day post cavitation surgery.  Chipmunk cheeks and getting my Vitamin C drip.)

 

I think cavitation surgery is a very personal decision and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly.  Most dentist are not trained to look for them and do not fully understand the implications of them.  However, the existence of them and their effects on the immune system are undisputable.  Amalgams are an easier resolution with a simple in office usually insurance covered visit.  There is no reason anyone should be keeping amalgam fillings in their mouth when there are perfectly safe alternatives to replace them with.

 

Thank You for reading my blog! Please reach out with questions or to share your stories on oral health and where it’s taken you!

 

Carly

 

 

References

 

1. Robbins S L. Pathology, Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Company, Third Edition, 1967

 

2. Journal of Advancement in Medicine, Volume 9, Number 4, winter 1996

 

3.  DAMS, Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions, 2018 Retrieved from URL

 

4. Mercola, Taking Control of your Health, Sept 4, 2011 URL

 

5. Routine Dental Extractions Routinely Produce Cavitations, Thomas E. Levy,        MD, FACC and Hal A. Huggins, DDS, MS, Journal o Advancement in Medicine, Volume 9, Number 4, Winter 1996

 

6. The Cancer/Cavitation Connection, North Carolina Institute of Technology, Retrieved from URL

 

7. Hal Huggins, Dental Great Exposes the Dangers of Mercury and Root Canals,   retrieved from URL, curetoothdecay.com

 

8. Nunnally, Freenman, & Owens, Healthy Smiles for Life URL.

 

9. Nunnally Shares New Information on the Toxicity Levels of Modern Day Root Canals. You Tube Video published 2009.

 

10. Biological Dentistry, Holistic Dentistry with Dr. Stuart Nunnally, DDS.You Tube Video Interview, Published May 3, 2017.