By Simon Yu, MD
A request to sign the death certificate for my sixty-five year old patient, whom I had not seen in over two years, arrived on my desk. He lived out of town and apparently, he died in his sleep from the probable cause of a cardiovascular event. The mortuary in his town could not find a physician to sign the death certificate, so the family requested me to sign it. He had a history of hypertension, stroke and severe fatigue. He always said, “I have zero energy.”
Reviewing his chart, he used to be a heavy drinker and heavy smoker. He was taking high blood pressure medications and taking all kinds of natural, herbal and vitamin supplements recommended by a famous, well-known natural doctor in this country. My notes indicated his underlying problem most likely came from a hidden dental infection in his lower molar wisdom teeth area, number 17 and 32, according to my acupuncture meridian assessment. I recommended that he see an oral surgeon.
He did not like my evaluation pointing to his jaw-dental area, since all his rotting teeth were extracted based on my recommendation a few years earlier. Apparently, his dental infection has progressed into his jawbone from his old wisdom tooth area, which corresponds to his Heart-Energy system according to the organ-meridian-dental chart (See the Tooth-Organ Meridian Chart on my website at www.preventionandhealing.com in the short article section). He kept reminding me that he had no teeth, so he could not possibly have another dental infection. He was angry at my recommendation for more dental work to be done, and did not come back.
We can easily attribute his heavy smoking and drinking as the cause of his death. There is unfortunately no proof that his dental infection was contributing to his hypertension, stroke and death from the cardiovascular event. There is a disconnection between the dental and medical professions in connecting the dots between causes and effects. Recommending dental work as a medical doctor is one of the sure ways of losing your patients.
Dental related medical conditions are well known and well documented in medical journal articles and textbooks. Yet, they are difficult to evaluate because medical doctors do not have the proper training, and lack the diagnostic tools to detect dental related medical problems. Unknowingly, dentists may plant the seed for a “Biological Time Bomb” when they drill or extract a tooth, place amalgams, perform root canals and implants, etc.
I wrote many articles on these subjects, including “Murder by Dentists,” and a whole chapter on “Dental Death Trap” in my book, Accidental Cure. Since the time of the Stone Age – about 13,000 years ago – dental infections were common, and Stone Age people had cavities treated by Stone Age dentists. They did not drill and fill cavities with mercury amalgams. They did not use high speed drills or perform root canals or implants. They scraped and coated the cavity with bitumen, a sticky, tarlike substance Stone Age folks used to attach stone tools to handles. This fascinating history is brought to you by a team led by a pair of biological anthropologists, Oxilia and Benazzi from the University of Bologna in Italy (Science News, May 2017 reporting on the American Journal of Physical Anthropology).
I have personally experienced significant dental problems. Under mental stress from organizing a conference, one day I woke up with swollen gums/teeth and could barely get out of bed with severe fatigue, zero energy. That tooth was eventually extracted and no root canal was done. On another occasion, I cracked one of my teeth while eating salad that unknowingly had an olive pit. The tooth got infected and was eventually extracted. After, I had persistent knee pain lasting over 18 months. If I was one of the Stone Age men with an infected tooth, I might as well have written my own death certificate.
Unrecognized, untreated high blood pressure is considered a leading silent killer, affecting millions of people. I saw a malignant hypertension patient with blood pressure of 250/150. Acupuncture meridian assessment (AMA) showed surprisingly only a dental problem. I sent the patient to an oral surgeon for a suspected infection at the old wisdom tooth at number 17. The day after oral surgery, her blood pressure was at 140/85. That person happened to be my wife.
Every known chronic illness – from arthritis, cardiopulmonary-vascular problems of all kinds, auto-immune disease, kidney problems, neurologic-muscular disorders, gastrointestinal-urological-skin-immunological problems, Lyme-like conditions, and many cancerous conditions – can be associated with unrecognized dental problems. Chronic illnesses can result from use of toxic materials like mercury, nickel or allergenic bonding materials, excessive galvanic currents, and from infected root canals and jaw bones (even after tooth extractions).
If you have unexplainable chronic medical conditions, consider unrecognized hidden dental problems that may be triggering mysterious unexplainable symptoms – despite normal looking dental X-rays. Malignant hypertension or another serious health threat caused by hidden dental problems is not an accident. This condition does not require more blood pressure medications, but a competent dentist or oral surgeon to correct the hidden dental problems, hopefully as good as the Stone Age dentist.
Holistic, biological dental groups understand the danger of modern dentistry and they understand the danger of the “Acci-Dental Blow Up in Medicine.” You may find such dentists in the directory of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) or International Academy of Biological Dentistry and Medicine (IABDM). These are the contemporary, high-tech Stone Age dentists, using natural bio-compatible materials.
When the medical profession recognizes the gravity of the Acci-Dental Blow up in Medicine – planted by a dentist many years ago in the dental chair – we should ask the mortuary to send the death certificate to the dentist. For my former patient, I filled out the certificate with the immediate cause of death as a cardiovascular event most likely from heart attack due to heavy smoking, hypertension and history of previous stroke. The death certificate did not mention dental infection: the unknown but likely cause.
Dr. Simon Yu, M.D. is a Board Certified Internist. He practices Internal Medicine with an emphasis on Alternative Medicine to use the best each has to offer. For more articles and information about alternative medicine as well as patient success stories, and Dr. Yu’s revolutionary health book Accidental Cure: Extraordinary Medicine for Extraordinary Patients, visit his web site at www.PreventionandHealing.com or call Prevention and Healing, Inc., 314-432-7802. You can also attend a free monthly presentation and discussion by Dr. Yu on Alternative Medicine at his office on the second Tuesday each month at 6:30 pm. Call to verify the date. Seating is limited, arrive early.