Milford chronicle., 1920-02-27
TEETH AND HEALTH
By r. ALLEN GRIFFITH. D. D. s.
FOCAL INFECTION

All germ diseases must have a point
/ OF concentration. or beginning place
some point where they may develop
and grow some focus or, if more than
one (pluruaD foci. These germs must
nave a place TO live and multiply. a
proper temperature. food, moisture
and comparative darkness.
Focal infection is today causing the
medical profession more concern than
any other subject in all its history.
Why?
Because every death which is not
due to an accident is due to the ac-
ton Of micro-organisms.
The foci of infection are not the real
seat of disease, but are the points OF
concentration from which the germs
and their toxins (pOisons) are carried
to other parts of the body to produce
a secondary infection. Ii the second
airy Inflammation happens TO be in
the appendix the individual has appen-
dlcius; If in the colon, cOlitis, etc.
There can be very few foci of in
lection, for there are very few points
from which germs may gain entrance
into the system Practically the only
sites in which chronic foci may be
found are as follows:
l. The teeth. including the bones
and tissues surrounding them, are the
greatest.
2 The middle ear and mastoid
sinus.
3. The tonsils.
4. TaccessOry nasal cavities. e. g.
sphenoid, frontal and maxil-
larry.
.. The genito-urinary tract, chief
Iy the prostate and seminal vesicles in
the male, and uterine adnexax in the
female.
6. Gastra-intestinal tract, includ-
ing the gall bladder and the appendix
In the light of more recent investi-
cation it is pretty safe to say that ton
stls, the middle ear, and mastoids, as
we'll as the bastro-intestinal infections
are always secondary infections,
which leaves the mouth, nose and gem
to-urinary tract as the only primary
sources of infection.
Some of our great authorities claim
hat 50 per cent Of all infections orig
nate in the mouth.
Infections in this region may be
'oughly divided into two grouRs: 1)
Infections about the teeth, in pyOrrhea
pockets and (2) assesses and mecros-
5 in the jaw, usually at the tips Of the
oots. Either one of these conditions
eldOm cause pain, which makes them
III the more dangerous. This is not
new subject.
Way back in 1900 Dr. William Hunt /
r Of London specifically pointed out |
he direct connection between aiveo- 4
ar abscess. tartar formations and py- [
rrhea, enlargements, ulcerative en- |
ocarditis, suppurative miningitis, /
eptic gastritis, assesses, and physi- /
al arrangements in general. He an
as a result of his studies Of /
he alimintary processes for thirty /
ears-a process which begins in the
louth, is continued in the stomach 1
nd intestines, extends to the portal |
loOd and may be assumed to end in .
he liver-that his studies commenc-
d in the liver, passed back to the
-Omach and intestines and finally
nded twenty years ago in the mouth.
The great practical outcome of his
is the final recognition
nd description of mouth conditions
5 a great cause of systemic disease.
While there were earlier investiga-
,rs than Hunter, yet his were the
rst to gain serious and widespread
tention from the medical profession.
Later research has served to modify |
'rtain details, but no essential prin-
pie of the ideas presented in his dis
lssiOn of oral sepsis.
OF late years bacteriologists have
owed out this theory by taking. for
stance, an individual suffering from
,pendicitis. Cultures were taken
ON his mouth and injected into ami |
ais. If the culture of micro-organ-
ms produced appendicitis in the an
lals it is pretty safe to assume that
e appendicitis was caused by the
icro-Organisms growing in the
outh. These experiments have been
rried out in thousands of cases over
period of twenty years, until today
lnter's theory has been thoroly
owed.
1t has remained for the new school
r the prevention of disease (Oral
to point out the way to
event the appalling loss of life from
stemic diseases, which are the re-
1t of focal infections.
To be most effective, oral prophy-
Iis should begin in early childhood.
clean tooth will not decay. A highly
aimed surgeon knows what clean
nds are Only a highly trained oral
gienist knows what clean teeth are.
can teeth and a clean mouth are
rfectly practical and will prevent a
-ge per cent of the loss of life due
systemic disease caused by focal
ection.
Food business is good advertising.
o columns Of The Chrnninla rnal-n l