CAVITATIONS: HELPING TO KEEP YOU SICK
Oral health is a window into the general health of the patient. The medical literature from the last hundred years clearly shows that toxins and infections in the mouth infect and sicken the whole body. It is well known in dentistry and medicine that periodontal disease is a risk factor for diabetes and heart disease. In no other bone in the body is the potential for trauma and infections as great as in the jawbone. I have been interested in oral health throughout my professional life following a resurgence in my own health after attending to my own dental pathology many years ago. Indeed, this was the turning point to a new career.
What are cavitations?
In this blog post, I want to focus on one aspect of the oral environment which can make and keep you sick - cavitations. A cavitation is a hole or lesion in the jawbone, as opposed to a hole in a tooth which is called a cavity. A cavitation means the formation of a dead area of bone in the human jaw - with no fever, no swelling, no pain. However, the fact that spirochetes, mould, candida, viruses and even parasites have been cultured from these areas of dead bone, reflects the importance of addressing them in order to bring about a significant improvement in overall health.
This is not new news. Cavitations have been diagnosed, treated and written about since the 1960’s. They have been given various medical names over the years - NICO lesions (Neuralgia Inducing Cavitational Osteonecrosis), CIMDJ (Chronic Ischaemic Medullary Disease of Jaw), FDOJ (Fatty Degenerative Osteonecrosis of Jawbone), CFO (Chronic Fibrosing Osteomyelitis) and others. In this article, I will refer to them simply as cavitations.
How do cavitations occur?
How do cavitations form and how common are they? The majority of cavitations occur when a tooth is extracted and the socket didn’t completely heal. There are a number of things that can go wrong with the tooth extraction process that would predispose towards incomplete bone marrow healing.
If the dentist uses a local anaesthetic anaesthetic containing adrenaline (as most do), this is helpful for him as the patient stays number for longer, but not helpful for healing as capillaries (tiny blood vessels) can flatten and the bone cell waiting for oxygen at the other end can die. How long can a bone cell go without oxygen? According to one eminent dental pathologist, about 30 seconds!
When you extract a decayed tooth, there are going to be lots of dead bone cells in the area. The cavity may heal on the surface but not necessary down at the base of the socket. Incomplete healing is more likely to occur if the ligament attaching tooth to bone is left in place (as is normal practice with the majority of UK dentists) instead of being removed. That is why if you revisit an extraction site twenty years later, you can find a cess pit of decay, mushy bone and oily cysts, which are a great breeding ground for bacteria, viruses and fungi. In other words, the cavity never heals properly and becomes a cavitation.
Additionally, if you get punched in the jaw, the internal bleeding and blood clots formed can also cause bone cells to die. Finally, certain medications such as antidepressants and some osteoporosis medications can also trigger the formation of cavitations.
Sadly, the above dental practices (adrenaline injections and leaving the ligament in place) that lead to cavitations are the norm rather than the exception in the UK. In clinical practice, the majority of my chronic infection/fatigue patients have needed dental work done to help lift the burden off their immune systems. I credit skilful cavitation surgery with helping me to recover from Lyme and Bartonella infections.
How do cavitations damage your health?
Inside a cavitation, there is a gradual buildup of anaerobic bacteria (like those found in the tiny tubules of root canals) that don’t need oxygen to survive. They produce toxins which become more concentrated over time. These toxins, some of which can be cancer-causing, seep outside of the cavitation by a process called osmosis and escape into the blood stream. The leaked toxins can then travel via the superhighways of the body (blood and lymph) to distant organs and tissues where they can set up housekeeping in vulnerable tissues and trigger a wide range of diseases.
This happens particularly with faulty wisdom teeth extractions. The spread and progression of disease in locations distant to the tooth can take days, months or years to occur, depending on the biochemistry and circumstances of the patient. Sadly, few dentists and doctors make that vital link between the extraction that the patient had in his youth and the heart disease, multiple sclerosis or chronic fatigue that he has developed in middle age.
What kinds of diseases/medical conditions can the leaking of toxins from cavitations cause? As I said before, this is not new news! There is a growing body of evidence in the medical literature linking the toxins from cavitations to cardiovascular diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue conditions, chronic infections (bacterial, viral, yeast and mould), CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome), autoimmune disorders, neurological disorders and cancers. German dental researcher Dr Johann Lechner has published a number of important papers showing that cavitations produce high levels of RANTES (a pro-inflammatory immune chemical) that can drive metastases in breast cancer. This valuable information is easily accessible on the internet.
How are cavitations diagnosed?
If you are hoping that your regular dentist can check you for cavitations, you may be sadly disappointed. Despite the fact that cavitation literature and research has been around for well over a century, this subject is not routinely taught in dental schools. Why this is the case is not the subject for this Newsletter but if you have been around on Planet earth for the last few decades, you might be able to hazard a guess.
If you want a dentist who is knowledgeable and can correctly diagnose cavitations, you need to visit a Biological dentist who is properly trained to investigate and address hidden jawbone infections.
Biological Dentistry differs from “drill, fill and bill” dentistry by recognising that the interventions in the mouth have direct consequences on the rest of the body. It embraces such issues as safe removal of heavy metals and infections from the mouth and jawbone as well as proper alignment of the jaws and “bite” for optimal neurological functioning of the entire body. For more information on Biological Dentistry, please see the IAOMT website (International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology).
How are cavitations diagnosed? As ordinary dental X-rays can often fail to pick them up, there are two diagnostic tools that specialist dentists frequently use to identify the presence of cavitations:
CBCT scan (cone beam scan)
Cavitau (ultrasound scan)
Rantes blood test - carried out by myself
Who should be thinking about cavitations?
In short, anyone who isn’t enjoying optimal health or suffering with a chronic condition, has had a dental extraction at any time in their lives and wants to get to the root causes of their condition. Be prepared to travel to see the right dentist. Just one trip to the wrong dentist can herald a lifetime of sickness and suffering.
How are cavitations treated?
It is essential to choose a well trained and skilful Biological Dentist or oral surgeon to treat ischaemic cavitation sites. The best referral comes from a holistic doctor/practitioner who is knowledgeable about dental focal infections (infections that can affect other organs distant to the mouth). In my clinic, I like to check every chronically ill patient for the possibility of cavitations, especially if they have had wisdom tooth removal at any time of their lives. I work with a network of Biological Dentists who I can refer patients to for the correct diagnostics and treatment.
Pre and Post Cavitation Surgery Protocols
My role in the dental procedure is to ensure that patients are well prepared for surgery and optimal bone healing. This involves helping the patient to get the following support in place for optimal bone healing:
Correct diet that (enough protein and good fats)
Correct supplements for bone healing
Retroviral and immune support
Detoxification support
Support for infected tonsils (if applicable)
If the above are in place prior to dental work, the extraction site has a much better chance of healing and filling in with healthy bone a second time around.
On the day of the surgery, a Biological dentist will generally use a local anaesthetic without adrenaline. They will then access the site to thoroughly clean out the decay and debris from the bone and use ozone gas and water to kill the bugs. Some dentists also use platelet-rich fibrin to accelerate the healing process. Scraping the bone to stimulate blood flow allows a blood clot to form that starts a healthy filling in of bone. The best thing to make your bone heal is your own blood!
It is important to have a 5 day rest and healing time immediately after cavitation surgery. Patients should plan to rest and avoid any strenuous activity (except slow and short walks) which could delay or even block the healing of the surgery site. This is to prevent the dreaded “dry socket” occurring from the invasion of bacteria in the area between the blood clot and the bone. When the blood clot is lost, the surgery nearly always fails and needs to be redone at some point in the future. The signs of dry socket can include significant pain at the surgical site and typically a foul odour. Antibiotics do little in this situation as there is no blood flow in the area.
Other tools to aid recovery include:
Clear nutrient-dense bone broths (organic grass-fed beef, chicken, turkey, lamb or wild fish) are especially important on the first two days before the surgical incision has fully closed.
Later, pureed vegetables (carrots, turnips, onions, kale, pumpkin etc) to make a thicker soup to stave off hunger and supply healing nutrients.
Homeopathics like Arnica and Hypericum perforatum.
Therapeutic laser (830 nanometers and 100 milliwatts) if available. One minute a time about 6 times a day.
Once the previously infected cavitation sites have healed with healthy bone marrow, the immune system no longer needs to engage in a battle with pathogens hiding out in a ‘safe place’ in the jaw. It can be freed up to concentrate on other vital tasks. Electrical impulses drive many key functions of the body such as electrical stimulation driving heart rhythm and sending rapid fire signals via the central nervous system. In Chinese Medicine, the wisdom tooth areas are linked to “energy” and the heart. It is not uncommon to see quite significant alterations in a person’s life after clean-out of wisdom tooth cavitations. In my case, it triggered a whole career change!
If you are not enjoying optimal health, have had teeth extracted and would like to explore the above issues, please get in touch with the Good Health Clinic on goodhealthclinic@outlook.com to request a free 30 minute Enquiry Call or book an appointment. Please note that an Enquiry Call is not a consultation but an exploratory call to see if this a clinical approach you wish to pursue.
To your very good health,
Suzanne Jeffery (Nutritional Medicine Consultant)
M.A.(Oxon), BSc.(NMed), PGCE, MNNA, CNHC
The Good Health Clinic at The Business Centre, 2, Cattedown Road, Plymouth PL4 0EG
Tel no: 07836 552936/ Answer phone: 01752 774755
Disclaimer:
All advice given out by Suzanne Jeffery and the Good Health Clinic is for general guidance and informational purposes only. All advice relating to other health professionals’ advice is for general guidance and information purposes only. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information provided with other sources. Patients and consumers should review the information carefully with their professional health care provider. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by other practitioners and physicians. Suzanne Jeffery and the Good Health Clinic will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary or other damages arising therefrom.