Milford chronicle., 1920-02-06
TEETH AND HEALTH
By R. ALLEN GRIFFITH, D. D. S
TEETH AND INFECTIONS

There are certain tooth symptoms
which should cause any person spec
ial concern. They are:
Sweetish offensive breath, locaI
swelling and purplish-red color Of the
gums.
A feeling of elongation of one OF
more teeth. Gums which bleed easily
or from around which food or pus may
be squeezed. When any of these
symptoms are present. careful X-ray
examinations should be made and in
some cases meteorological smears for
investigation.
Many leaders in the medical profess
sion think that most of the chronic
diseases of today have their origin in
! infection of some sort, and that the
mouth most frequently furnishes the
! focus from which the infection starts.
Among these chronic diseases might
be mentioned appendicitis. Bright's
disease, ulcer of the stomach, chronic
Inflammation of the intestines, gall
stones, sO-called chronic rheumatism,
gout, antrum and frontal sinus dis
ease, Inflammation of the joints,
Inflammation of the marrow of the
bone, exophthaimic goiter, etc.
Experience teaches that pyorrhea
and assesses are the forms of infec
ton which are more liable to cause
systemic trouble than decayed teeth
with open cavities. AS long as the
cavities are open there is an outlet !
for the discharge of pus, whereas the |
assesses at the roots of filled teeth /
are in closed cavities filled with pus /
and gas which can only escape direct
ly into the system.
Physicians who are in the habit of
treating chronic diseases are beginn
ing to fear systemic infection from the
teeth more than infections from any
other source.
A Canadian writer has recently said
that he believed that mouth infection
is the most important problem before
the medical and dental professions to-
day Very often the teeth that are the
most innocent-loOking ones cause the
most systemic trouble.
In looking for focal infections, no
examination of the mouth can possi-
ply be complete without the aid of the
X-ray All teeth which look suspic- :
Gus should always be X-rayed. !
Dead teeth should Away be a cause
If suspicion and should b. carefully
examined with the X-ray and ex- =
racted If they show any bone de- =
they should be thoroughly +
uretted !
Radiographs in these cases are in .
because they show if the .
oots are properly filled and also if o
ny apicaI assesses are present. As =
Mechanical dentistry has progressed,
o have many systemic infections with
which the physician of the last gem d
ration did not have to contend. =.
'rowns and bridges sometimes hide a u
Dt of infection and frequently permit q
he development of a serious condition u
f disease
If the dental profession is to con- y
inue to use the title of doctor. den Il
sts must be more than tooth car
enters" They must know as much \,
bout the human body in health and :
isease as the physician. For in =
tance, when a patient is suffering '
rom rheumatism the dentist should .
now that 80 per cent. of the rheu-
latism is caused by some focus of in
,ctiOE.
OF course, it is the place of the
iysician to discover just where that q
,cus of infection is, yet the dentist a
lould at least make sure that the :.
lrt of the body over which he has a.
lecial care is not the part that is g
lusing the patients trouble Like ~
Use when the physician has exhaust o.
all other points of infection he n
Iould carefully look into the condi- II
On of the teeth. IL
The necessity for the cooperation IN
tween the two professions is readily OF
en-. az