IT MAY sound unbelievable, but with a few exceptions, all disease starts in the mouth. I am not talking about conditions caused by genetics or physical or emotional trauma; I am talking here about the majority of illnesses and diseases that plague the human race, including chronic degenerative disease. It is through the mouth that all disease starts out. Think about it for a moment. Our mouths and nasal passages are the passageways into our bodies. It is through the mouth and sinuses that we take in air and get nourishment, the two things most vital to our survival and existence. This is also the passageway into our bodies for disease-causing toxins and germs. Without oxygen, we could only survive for a matter of minutes. In addition, the quality of air that we breathe can affect our health in many ways. Polluted air, toxic gas, tobacco smoke, allergy-causing pollen, and germs can all have an impact on our health.
Likewise, what we put into our mouths can generally impact our health. The food we eat nourishes our bodies. Inadequate food intake or poor dietary habits can cause malnutrition and nutritional deficiency diseases, and increase our risk for developing degenerative disease. Too much food, whether nutritious or not, can lead to obesity and a whole host of other problems, such as diabetes and “bad” heart.
Insufficient water intake, or excess coffee, alcohol, and soda intake can lead to acute or chronic dehydration. Drugs, natural toxins in foods, environmental toxins, residual pesticides, chemical food additives, rancid oils, and industrial contaminants can all enter our bodies through the mouth. What we eat and drink have a great impact on the ability of our immune system to keep us healthy. Poor dietary habits weaken the immune system, making us vulnerable to a multitude of health problems. When the immune system is depressed, cancer and infectious disease can take hold. When the immune system is strong, even potentially serious infections caused by wounds or insect bites can be overcome.
Our mouths are also the entryway into our bodies for bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Hundreds of billions of microscopic organisms inhabit our mouths and digestive tracts. Some of these organisms are beneficial, while others are not. However, all are potentially harmful. Even the beneficial organisms can become deadly if they find entrance into the bloodstream. Microbes can seep into the bloodstream through open sores and wounds, or through inflamed tissue. Our mouths provide them an easy entryway into the bloodstream. In the blood, these organisms can cause untold harm, causing systemic and localized infections, chronic inflammation, and initiating an autoimmune response that can lead to a multitude of health problems ranging from arthritis to heart disease. So, as you can see, almost all disease in our society starts in our mouths.
A wise farmer always examines an animal’s mouth before buying it. He knows that the condition of the animal’s mouth reflects the health of its entire body. No farmer in his right mind is going to pay top dollars for an animal with missing teeth or swollen gums.
Many years ago, as soon as you entered a doctor’s office for medical treatment, the doctor told you to stick out your tongue and he/she examined it and the oral cavity. Dental problems signal that other health problems are likely present. This is true with humans as well. This fact was recognized centuries ago, and was the basis for the focal infection theory in dentistry. This theory basically states that an oral infection can influence the health of the entire body. Based on this theory, old time dentists were inclined to extract all diseased teeth in the hope of preventing disease from spreading to other parts of the body.
The connection between dental and whole-body health was recognized at least 2,700 years ago. It is mentioned in ancient Assyrian and Greek medical texts. Hippocrates, the Greek physician who is considered the father of Western medicine, reports curing a patient of arthritis by pulling an infected tooth. Before the 20th Century, the focal theory of infection was considered to be so obvious it was accepted as a fact. Those who worked with animals knew very well that dental health affected overall health. In humans, when infected teeth were pulled, patients often reported recovery from various other health problems.
So, how does tooth decay or swollen gums affect other parts of the body? How can an infected tooth cause arthritis or pneumonia, or precipitate a heart attack or stroke? Who of us are at risk?
If you had the misfortune of being bitten by a dog — bitten hard enough to puncture the skin — what would be the first thing you would do to treat the wound? The first thing you should do is disinfect the wound: Wash it with soap and water to kill any germs that might cause an infection. In fact, we are taught to wash any type of wound to remove germs. Germs from the dog’s mouth or the environment can cause a serious infection that can spread throughout the body, and can cause serious harm. And yet a dog’s mouth only has ten per cent of the germs that we humans have in ours.