CAVITATIONS are a relatively new term in the dental dialogue. Most patients are not aware of cavitations, and even many dentists may not know much of them as yet.
Cavitation is a hole in the bone, usually where a tooth has been removed and the bone has not been filled in properly.

When a tooth is being extracted, in what has been a normal dental procedure, the surrounding periodontal membrane is usually left behind. Theoretically, when a tooth is pulled, the body will eventually fill in space in the bone where the tooth was. But when the membrane is left behind, incomplete healing can take place which leaves a hole or spongy place inside the jaw bone. Experts speculate that perhaps this is because the bone cells on either side sense the presence of the periodontal membrane and “think” that the tooth is still there.

Cavitation can form in any bone in the body, not just in the jawbones. There are also other reasons that cavitations form, some of which are localised form, some of which are localised traumas, poor circulation to the area, clotting disorders and the use of steroids.
Viewing an x-ray of an extracted tooth site, this membrane can form an image that appears to be a shadow of a tooth. Almost always, this is an indicator of cavitation. Most dentists can be aware of this phantom tooth image, but they generally do not recognise it as a site for potential problems.

Inside cavitation, bacteria flourish and deviant cells multiply. Cavitations act as a breathing ground for bacteria and their toxins. Research has shown these bacterial waste products to be extremely potent. Cavitations can also cause blockages on the body’s energy meridians and exert a far-reaching impact on the overall system. Investigations reveal that some cavitations even serve as reservoirs of huge amounts of mercury emitted by many silver fillings which the patient may have at the time when the tooth was extracted.

Some researchers believe that cavitations may be a source of low-level or high-level stress on the entire body.
Diagnosing cavitations is an elusive process because cavitations do not always readily appear on X-rays.
Sometimes they show up only as very subtle differentiations in the texture pattern of the bone. If your dentist is not specifically looking for the cavitations, then your x-ray will be read as looking “just fine.”

There are other ways to discover cavitation sites. For example, they will sometimes cause pain when the area is lightly stroked or when pressure is applied. There is a new instrument, similar to a sonogram, which will be coming out on the market soon that will detect these cavitations easily.
The most common place to find cavitation is the third molar area – the area where the wisdom teeth are removed. Because so many of the body’s major organs are on the wisdom toothy meridian, cavitations in this area are particularly worrisome.

While cavitations can be caused by the removal of teeth, this does not necessarily mean that you should not have teeth removed. However, the dentist should clean out the periodontal ligament if it remains attached, and any infection that is present, as part of the normal procedure. By doing this, the wound will have the greatest chance of healing normally, giving the patient no further difficulty.