Dealing with Oral Spirochetes – Treatment Information from Our Stockton Dentists
Oral Spirochete
First cure your mouth and then we will help you out it back together.
Please note: We do not place dental implants on patients infected with oral spirochetes.
At Martin Dentistry in Stockton, Drs. Douglas and Dax Martin understand that good oral hygiene is related to good overall health. As more and more studies are performed linking dental health with serious diseases like heart attack, stroke, and diabetes, our caring dentists take notice. Bacteria, including oral spirochete, can infect your mouth and cause harm to the rest of your body. Learn more about oral spirochetes and its treatment.
Martin Dentistry
1310 East Swain Road. S-2
Stockton, California, 95210
Telephone: (866) 319-6980
Fax number: (209) 951-4822
Douglas Martin , DDS - Martin Dentistry - 1310 East Swain Road S-2, Stockton, California, 95210 Telephone: (866) 319-6980 Fax number: (209) 951-4822
Copyright © 2010 Douglas M. Martin D.D.S., INC. | Dental Website Design and Hosting by eMediaNode
Dentistry Background and How Bacteria Gets Involved
Drs. Dax and Douglas Martin mostly treat three things in dentistry: two bones and a seal. The first bone our implant dentists treat is what you usually think about when you go the dentist: the tooth bone. The tooth bone is the only bone in the skeleton which sticks out through the skin. The second bone they treat is called the alveolar bone and its job is to hold the teeth bones to the jaw bone. The alveolar bone goes away when the teeth are removed. If the alveolar bone deteriorates when teeth are still present, those teeth will fall out.
The third thing our dentists treat is a seal: the gum. The gum is specialized tissue that seals the skeleton where it sticks out through the skin. If the seal leaks, blood runs out when we brush our teeth. Worse yet, bacteria get into the body through the leaking seal and can destroy the alveolar bone. Modern medicine has been able to show that when the gum seals leak several other diseases are either caused or made much worse.
Using Technology to Detect Bacteria
Several years ago, Martin Dentistry purchased a research grade phase contrast microscope. This tool enables Drs. Dax and Douglas Martin to see the kinds of nasty creatures patients have in their mouths. There is one particular kind of nasty bug called a spirochete (spy-row-keet) which is very aggressive and can only be seen with the help of the phase contrast microscope. Contact our Stockton implant dentistry practice to learn more about our spirochetes screening process.
Spirochetes cause several diseases in man and animals, including syphilis, Lyme disease, stomach ulcers, cat scratch fever, trench mouth, pyorrhea, and necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis. This list is by no means exhaustive, as there are several diseases caused by these bugs. Take a look for yourself in this oral spirochetosis video on YouTube .
Spirochetes that Cause Syphilis and Lyme Disease
There are several types of spirochetes, which cause different types of diseases. By looking at spirochetes that cause syphilis and Lyme disease, you can get a better understanding of oral spirochetes.
Syphilis Spirochete
Syphilis starts as a sore on the mucosa of the genitals – then it seems to go away. Some unknown time later a red rash forms over the body, which also goes away. Many years later, very bad things begin to happen as the brain, blood vessels, and many other organs break down.
The syphilis spirochete is extremely aggressive bacteria, which is easily able to go through intact mucosa (the lining skin of the gastro-intestinal tract and genital urinary tract). Once in the body, it multiplies and causes syphilis.
Lyme Disease Spirochete
Lyme disease starts as a small sore after a tick bite. The person gets sick later with many bizarre symptoms. This cycle may go on for years. Doctors treat Lyme disease with every known kind of antibiotic, yet, it typically returns again. Lyme disease researchers believe the spirochete forms spores, or tiny seeds, which are not killed by any antibiotic. After the antibiotic treatment is ended the patient becomes sick again as the spirochetes begin to again multiply and flourish in the victim's body.
How Other Spirochetes Help in Understanding of Oral Spirochete
If we look at the spirochete which causes Lyme disease, we can learn a great deal about the connection between people with oral spirochetes and their deaths from heart disease, their onset of diabetes, and their development of Alzheimer's disease. (For an exhaustive library of systemic illnesses related to oral spirochetes, visit the ZT4BG website . This site contains many references showing how gum disease relates to systemic illnesses.)
Lyme disease researchers claim that spirochetes form spores. However, it is believed that oral spirochetes have a very interesting life cycle. This cycle is different from other spirochetes such as the syphilis spirochete or the Lyme disease spirochete, which are able to live inside the human body and multiply there.
It is believed that the oral varieties do not live and multiply in the human body (except perhaps in the brain). Instead, oral spirochetes live in the very special habitat: the crevice between the tooth and gum. This environment is unique because it is constantly fed by the filtrate of blood called extracellular fluid (ECF), but it is outside the usual bodily defenses. Even when the crevice is full of white blood cells (pus) the area is still safe from the body's natural defenses.
Once the spirochete from the crevice invades into the body, it can travel in the blood stream and destroy blood vessels. There is a very common disease—called by various names—which cause the gum to rot and disappear. The blood vessels of the gums are destroyed by the spirochetes of this illness. When the blood supply is destroyed the gums rot away and the characteristic grey chewed off gums of this disease is the result of the damage to the blood vessels. A very explicit depiction of this can be seen on a graphic spirochetes video on YouTube.
Life Cycle and Attack of Oral Spirochetes
Now, let’s look at a model for oral spirochetes. These very aggressive creatures multiply by the trillions in the crevice between the tooth and gum, where they are fed constantly by the fluid coming from the blood inside the body which leaks out constantly due to improper oral hygiene. These bacteria can go through the skin of the gums just like the syphilis spirochete goes through the skin of the genitals. Once inside the body they can go through the blood stream to any part of the body where they can easily invade the blood vessels and damage them.
The attack of the blood vessels can account for the known facts that:
- Not flossing is a major risk factor for heart attack
- A small amount of alveolar bone loss (caused by oral spirochetes) raises the risk of stroke by 40 percent
Once inside the body these spirochetes do not multiply and divide or they would have been found to cause a disease such as syphilis or Lyme disease. However, if they form spores or seeds in the body they have succeeded in their life cycle. The seed waits until the animal dies when oxygen no longer circulates (due to lack of blood flow) and the tissue becomes anaerobic. The seed begin to grow. The next animal eating the flesh can ingest the seeds or the active spirochete and become infected. (This life cycle is used to account for the discovered fact that dinosaurs had gum disease.)
Although syphilis spirochetes can easily cross from the mother through the placenta and cause brain damage and nervous system problems in the child, oral spirochetes are not necessarily passed to children in that way. However, oral spirochetes can be passed through:
- Food passed from parents' mouths to children
- Kissing
- Eating meat infected with oral spirochete spores
Connection between Oral Spirochetes and Other Diseases
Dentistry has traditionally looked at red irritated gums as a local phenomenon, much like the athlete foot fungus. Dentists treated gum disease as an isolated phenomenon thinking, very foolishly, that sore rotting gums was not damaging the whole person. But we know very differently today. We know that gum disease is linked to these very common chronic illnesses and our dentists are dedicated to helping you fight this vicious cycle.
Studies have shown that approximately the same percentage of humans that do not have oral spirochetes have no heart disease, diabetes, or Alzheimer's disease. Over the last few years in our Stockton dental office, Drs. Dax and Douglas Martin have looked carefully at our older patients who have no chronic illnesses. Our dentists have found that they have no spirochetes in their mouths!
Every patient with heart disease, diabetes or Alzheimer's disease has oral spirochetes. Renowned spirochetes researcher, Dr. Nordquist has coined the term multiple missing tooth syndrome to describe those with oral spirochetosis. He has noted mental problems, heart disease, and diabetes as a part of oral spirochete infestation. His book is available for more information.
Can Oral Spirochetes Be Defeated?
What is the current level of knowledge as a result of our dentists' work and those who are very alarmed by these nasty creatures? At Martin Dentistry, we believe that oral spirochetes ARE the cause of many chronic problems found in humans.
The problem is that the life cycle of these spore-forming creatures can pass from generation to generation via the placenta in mammals or via spores from food, which may make it impossible to eradicate completely. However, our implant dentists hope that killing them in the gingival crevice where they can breed by the trillions and invade into the body by millions or billions over a life time can be a way to cut down their damage. Our dentists have devised ways to destroy them in their unique habitat the gingival crevice!
Combating Oral Spirochetes
You can defeat oral spirochetes with good oral hygiene and some additional steps. There are two ways to easily kill them with simple chemicals found in almost every home: baking soda and bleach.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is a salt. If you have ever seen someone pour salt on a snail or slug and watched the result, you have seen them shrivel up and die. Pushing the salt of baking soda into the crevices around your teeth with a tooth brush and floss does the same thing to spirochetes. THEY DIE!!
Clorox Bleach
Clorox bleach is also a great spirochete killer! By diluting one part of bleach with 20 parts of water, you create a safe dilution to use in the mouth. When diluted, the Clorox mixture is called Dakin's solution (which sounds a lot better than Clorox, if you are going to put it into your mouth, doesn’t it?). The solution must be made fresh each time you use it.
When you use the solution in a battery operated Waterpik™ you have a formidable weapon against spirochetes. Keep a bottle of Clorox in the shower; dilute it 20 to 1; put the solution into the Waterpik™; and use it in the shower. Blast and kill the spirochetes in their homeland before they do the acts of terrorism in your body and form spores.
By brushing your teeth with baking soda and rinsing with the Dakin's solution, you can eradicate the oral spirochetes from your mouth and improve your overall health. We recommend the oral care regimen advocated by Jurgen Slots Ph.D., head of the Periodontics program at University of Southern California. Download this home care regimen .
Contact Our Stockton Practice for a Proper Dental Screening
Because oral spirochetes can cause some many other dental problems, it is important to check for these bacteria in your mouth. Contact our Stockton dental practice today to schedule a comprehensive oral exam. Take a stand against these invaders in your mouth and improve your health.
Science News Related to Your Oral Health
Below are news stories that show a correlation between the growth of bacteria, including oral spirochetes, in the mouth from lack of proper oral hygiene and the increased chance of being affected by heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other diseases.
Trouble thinking? Better see the dentist
November 13, 2009 Reuters (New York)
Good oral care such as regular brushing, flossing and trips to the dentist, may help aging adults keep their thinking skills intact, according to a U.S. study.
Research has already established an association between poor oral health and heart disease, stroke and diabetes, as well as Alzheimer's disease.
But researchers from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York found gum disease could also influence brain function through several mechanisms, such as causing inflammation throughout the body, a risk factor for loss of mental function.
The study based on adults aged 60 and older found those with the highest levels of the gum disease-causing pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis were three times more likely to have trouble recalling a three-word sequence after a period of time.
The study, led by Dr. James Noble, also found that adults with the highest levels of this pathogen were two times more likely to fail three-digit reverse subtraction tests.
"Despite the association of periodontitis with stroke and shared risk factors between stroke and dementia, to our knowledge, no epidemiological studies have investigated periodontitis relative to cognition," the researchers wrote in their study.
"Although results presented here are preliminary and inconclusive, a growing body of evidence supports exploration of a possible association between poor oral health and incident dementia."
The study, reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, was based on more than 2,350 men and women who were tested for periodontitis and completed numerous thinking skills tests as part of a national survey.
Overall 5.7 percent of the adults had trouble completing certain memory tasks, 6.5 percent had impaired delayed recall, and 22.1 percent had trouble with serial subtractions.
But those with the levels of the pathogen were nearly three times more likely to struggle with the verbal memory tests, and twice as likely to fail on both delayed verbal recall and subtraction tests.
"Although our results are preliminary, they suggest that further exploration of relationships between oral health and cognition is warranted," they concluded.
(Reporting by Joene Hendry of Reuters Health, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)
More Than 90 Percent of People with Gum Disease Are at Risk for Diabetes, Study Finds
December 15, 2009 Science Daily
An overwhelming majority of people who have periodontal (gum) disease are also at high risk for diabetes and should be screened for diabetes, a New York University nursing-dental research team has found. The researchers also determined that half of those at risk had seen a dentist in the previous year, concluded that dentists should consider offering diabetes screenings in their offices, and described practical approaches to conducting diabetes screenings in dental offices.
The study, led by Dr. Shiela Strauss, Associate Professor of Nursing and Co-Director of the Statistics and Data Management Core for NYU's Colleges of Dentistry and Nursing, examined data from 2,923 adult participants in the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who had not been diagnosed with diabetes. The survey, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States.
Using guidelines established by the American Diabetes Association, Dr. Strauss determined that 93 percent of subjects who had periodontal disease, compared to 63 percent of those without the disease, were considered to be at high risk for diabetes and should be screened for diabetes. The guidelines recommend diabetes screening for people at least 45 years of age with a body mass index (a comparative measure of weight and height) of 25 or more, as well as for those under 45 years of age with a BMI of 25 or more who also have at least one additional diabetes risk factor. In Dr. Strauss's study, two of those additional risk factors -- high blood pressure and a first-degree relative (a parent or sibling) with diabetes -- were reported in a significantly greater number of subjects with periodontal disease than in subjects without the disease. Dr. Strauss's findings, published today in the online edition of the Journal of Public Health Dentistry, add to a growing body of evidence linking periodontal infections to an increased risk for diabetes.
Dr. Strauss also examined how often those with gum disease and a risk for diabetes visit a dentist, finding that three in five reported a dental visit in the past two years; half in the past year; and a third in the past six months.
"In light of these findings, the dental visit could be a useful opportunity to conduct an initial diabetes screening -- an important first step in identifying those patients who need follow-up testing to diagnose the disease."
"It's been estimated that 5.7 million Americans with diabetes were undiagnosed in 2007," Dr. Strauss added, "with the number expected to increase dramatically in coming years. The issue of undiagnosed diabetes is especially critical because early treatment and secondary prevention efforts may help to prevent or delay the long-term complications of diabetes that are responsible for reduced quality of life and increased levels of mortality among these patients. Thus, there is a critical need to increase opportunities for diabetes screening and early diabetes detection."
Dr. Strauss said that dentists could screen patients for diabetes by evaluating them for risk factors such as being overweight; belonging to a high-risk ethnic group (African-American, Latino, Native American, Asian-American, or Pacific Islander); having high cholesterol; high blood pressure; a first-degree relative with diabetes; or gestational diabetes mellitus; or having given birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds.
Alternatively, dentists could use a glucometer -- a diagnostic instrument for measuring blood glucose -- to analyze finger-stick blood samples, or use the glucometer to evaluate blood samples taken from pockets of inflammation in the gums.
"The oral blood sample would arguably be more acceptable to dentists because providers and patients anticipate oral intervention in the dental office," Dr. Strauss noted. In an earlier study involving 46 subjects with periodontal disease published in June 2009 by the Journal of Periodontology, an NYU nursing-dental research team led by Dr. Strauss determined that the glucometer can provide reliable glucose-level readings for blood samples drawn from deep pockets of gum inflammation, and that those readings were highly correlated with glucometer readings for finger-stick blood samples.
Dr. Strauss's coauthors on the study for the Journal of Public Health Dentistry include Ms. Alla Wheeler, Clinical Assistant Professor of Dental Hygiene; Dr. Stefanie Russell, a periodontist and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology & Health Promotion; and Dr. Robert Norman, Research Associate Professor of Epidemiology & Health Promotion, all of the NYU College of Dentistry; Dr. Luisa Borrell, an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Lehman College of the City University of New York; and Dr. David Rindskopf, Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology and Psychology at the City University of New York Graduate Center.
Periodontal Disease Independently Predicts New Onset Diabetes
August 8, 2008 Science Daily
Periodontal disease may be an independent predictor of incident Type 2 diabetes, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. While diabetes has long been believed to be a risk factor for periodontal infections, this is the first study exploring whether the reverse might also be true, that is, if periodontal infections can contribute to the development of diabetes.
The Mailman School of Public Health researchers studied over 9,000 participants without diabetes from a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population, 817 of whom went on to develop diabetes. They then compared the risk of developing diabetes over the next 20 years between people with varying degrees of periodontal disease and found that individuals with elevated levels of periodontal disease were nearly twice as likely to become diabetic in that 20 year timeframe. These findings remained after extensive multivariable adjustment for potential confounders including, but not limited to, age, smoking, obesity, hypertension, and dietary patterns.
"These data add a new twist to the association and suggest that periodontal disease may be there before diabetes," said Ryan T. Demmer, PhD, MPH, associate research scientist in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and lead author. "We found that over two decades of follow-up, individuals who had periodontal disease were more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes later in life when compared to individuals without periodontal disease."
Also of interest, the researchers found that those study participants who had lost all of their teeth were at intermediate risk for incident diabetes. "This could be suggestive that the people who lost all of their teeth had a history of infection at some point, but subsequently lost their teeth and removed the source of infection," noted Dr. Demmer. "This is particularly interesting as it supports previous research originating from The Oral Infections and Vascular Disease Epidemiology Study (INVEST) which has shown that individuals lacking teeth are at intermediate risk for cardiovascular disease" said Moïse Desvarieux, MD, PhD, director of INVEST, associate professor and Inserm Chair of Excellence in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School and senior author of the paper.
The contributory role of periodontal disease in the development of Type 2 diabetes is potentially of public health importance because of the prevalence of treatable periodontal diseases in the population and the pervasiveness of diabetes-associated morbidity and mortality. However, observes Dr. Demmer, more studies are needed both to determine whether gum disease directly contributes to type 2 diabetes and, from there, that treating the dental problem can prevent diabetes. In addition to Dr. Desvarieux, David R. Jacobs Jr., PhD, professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota, also contributed to the research.
The full study findings are published in the July 2008 issue of Diabetes Care.
Contact Our Stockton Practice for a Proper Dental Screening
Because oral spirochetes can cause some many other dental problems, it is important to check for these bacteria in your mouth. Contact our Stockton dental practice today to schedule a comprehensive oral exam. Take a stand against these invaders in your mouth and improve your health.
