Zac Cox Talk; Bugs, Mercury and Root canals?
It was a fantastic evening at the Steiner school with Zac Cox on Wednesday week last on a talk all about teeth and our health.
I will try to do the talk justice and portray for you the elements of oral health that we all should be more conscious of for our health.
A few interesting facts on the night included;
Mobile phone use (while talking with phone up to jaw) will trigger mercury release from a filling.
The amount of mercury vapour measured in the breath in the majority of patients with amalgam is in excess of that permitted in sewage water. Thank heavens for municiapal authorities for keeping our sewage water so safe.
The NHS are banning mercury use in dentistry from 2040 as it is a hazard to the environment!.
Pathogenic bacteria exposed to WIFI can make the bacteria antibiotic resistant!. Roll on public WIFI in the hospitals.
But, hold the phone. The best of all was Zac warming the evening up when we were told that 60% of our toothbrushes in our homes have faecal bacteria. Our homework for the evening was to go home and smell out toothbrushes!. After this the tooth brushes in our house have migrated to the bedrooms. Unless there is some undocumented incredible health benefit from having faecal bacteria in your mouth this probably is not great for health.
The first in depth topic of discussion was gum disease. Years ago Zac had a very unwell client in hospital. As the resident dental surgeon he was asked to review a swollen gum as part of pre-operative preparation. On incision, the gum poured out luminous green pus which was a localised gum infection. This bacteria in the mouth was the source of a systemic infection in the client causing a sleuth of health issues. The conventional wisdom postulates that bacteria in the mouth cannot affect other areas of the body. It can only cause localised problems.
I know from my own practice that there are two species of oral bacteria that cause Rheumatoid arthritis!. So much for conventional wisdom. This along with the examples of cultered bacteria from patients who died from cardiac issues have been shown to match bacteria that was cultured from a hidden infection lying hidden in a root canal.
With the bugs covered we moved onto Fluoride. Drum roll for the Irish who fluoridate their water. On the map of Ireland below you see the the north and south divided by a red line. You also see the republic covered in purple. The purple on the map indicates areas of the Ireland high with prostate cancer, Leukaemia and pancreatic cancer.There is a noticeable lack of these cancers in the un-fluoridated water of the North of Ireland.
This was the one aspect that I was not fully sold on until hearing the talk. I think a fluoride free step is an essential step to make in any health program.
Next up was root canals. The most important point regarding root canals was the elevated risk factor for cancers and other chronic health conditions.
With a root canal the root is removed from its socket. The tiny canal is then filled and the root capped. It is however impossible to fully sterilise the root socket so when the cap goes back on, residual bacteria can proliferate. This bacteria can seep into the bloodstream and slowly poison the host (you).
This is not to say every root canal is toxic but it is important to have your root canals reviewed by a holistic dentist aware of the risks. What was really interesting was the link made between root canals and breast cancer. I was cynical about this but having looked online I unearthed a study by Dr Thoas Rau who reviewed the records of
''150 breast cancer patients treated in his clinic. He found that 147 of them (98%) had one or more root canal teeth on the same meridian as the original breast cancer tumor''.
I am not sure where in the mouth this occurs but this is definitley worth getting checked out.
Next up was mercury. As a member of the public with 7 fillings I was super keen to hear about mercury. Needless to say I want them out ASAP. They are neuro-toxic and cause a host of issues from depression to chronic fatigue and thyroid issues.
We saw a slide of the packet of a mercury packaging bag as it is delivered to the dental surgery....
Warning Label for “silver” fillings sold under the name Tytin.
Inhalation: May cause Bronchiolitis (in bronchiolitis your airway becomes obstructed from the swelling of the bronchiole walls making it difficult or impossible to breathe.)
Pulmonary Edema (pulmonary edema is an abnormal build up of fluid in the lungs, which leads to swelling)
Eyes & Skin: May cause redness and irritation to eyes and skin
Acute Exposure: May cause sensitization and possible visual disturbances
PERSONAL PROTECTION-GLASSES, Protective Clothing, GLOVES, Ventilation Hood
California Prop 65 Warning: This product contains mercury, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm
Pneumonitis (pneumonitis is inflammation of the lungs due to breathing in a foreign substance)Ingestion: May cause Neurotoxic (It can damage nerves in your body.) effects
Nephrotoxic (It can damage the kidneys in your body.)effects
Keep Out of Reach of Children
In short if you have mercury filling get them out. There is a means to get your heavy metals levels checked...
So the practical application of all this....
There are two dentists whom I will now refer clients to who are mercury free and mercury safe. The first is a shameless plug for my Wife Dr. Anita Shukla of Willows dental practice.There are 20 IAOMT (holistic dentistry body) registered dentists in the UK and Anita has recently been listed as one of them which makes me super proud. She will be a great service to Hereford for many years to come.
The other of course is Dr. Zac Cox from Bristol. I found Zac to be full of integrity and a clinician who is more motivated by improving your health than the pursuit of wealth. He is a physician who embodies the values and passion that all great physicians hold and I am thrilled that there are such titans in the holistic dentistry world to call on for my clients.
Paul Foley Nutritional Therapist Dip Nut CNM, mBANT, mCNH
Phone; 0759 793 6899 Email; paul@pfoleyclinic.com Web; www.pfoleyclinic.com