Gum Disease Treatment - Relation of caries and periodontal disease

Relation of Caries and Periodontal Disease.
By Dr. Weston A. Price,D.D.S.,

The application of these new principles constitutes a new
basis for practice, as I have indicated in the previous
report. I am limiting this discussion to the significance
and nature of some of the structural and biochemical changes
that are associated with these phenomena.

In the column headed “percent Caries” I have shown the
incidence of dental caries in relation to these various factors,
and it will be noted that whereas only 40 percent of the patients
in the group called absent susceptibility show caries, this factor
increases to 80 percent in the next group, those with an acquired
susceptibility, and progressively increases, as the intensity of
inherited susceptibility develops to 93 percent.

This has tremendous meaning and significance, for it indicates
that those patiens who would be in greatest danger of injury
from an apical focal infection (because apical infections are
the results of loss of vitality of the pulp, due generally to
the approach of caries), will have most opportunity for the
infection, and, further, these individuals, who would be most
in danger, would be the ones who would have zones revealed by
roentgenograms as small or negative zones, as the local struc-
tural expression of the dental focal infection.

In the column headed Percent periodontal disease, I have shown
the incidence of periodontal disease, or so-called pyorrhea
alveolaris, and find (and this was a great surprise although
it has been abundantly verified) that as the tendency to caries
increases, but the periodontal disease tends to decrease as the
intensity of the inheritance of susceptibility for the rheumatic
group lesions increase.

This has profound importance, since it immediately indicates that
the phenomena of structural change, whether at the apex of a
tooth or at a gingival margin (for in every case in which we find
extensive periodontal disease our unit quantity of dental infection
will always produce a large zone of rarefaction) are related
through their causative factors, either directly or indirectly,
with the forces of defense and resistance. This has led to an
effort to analyze the involved forces and relate them to these
phenomena.

Heredity:
These studies have thrown an important light on some of the factors
that are involved in the relation of heredity to the type of dis-
turbance from which the patient suffers. In Table 2 I have arranged
a group of the relatives of each of ten patients in such a way as
to show the number of instances in all the members of the ten
families (approximately sixteen relatives of each patient) in which
there have appeared rheumatism and disturbances in the tonsils,
heart, neck, nerves, internal organs, and special tissues.

In all, forty patients were selected ten of whom were suffering
from rheumatism, ten from heart involvement, ten from nervous
system disturbance, and ten from disturbance of internal organs.
While the patient might be influenced by the health of the parents
and grandparents, the latter, with the brothers and sisters of the
father and mother and the brothers and sisters of the patient,
could not be influenced by the patient.

In the section headed “Group under rheumatism”, it will be noticed
that rheumatism was the most frequent lesion that was present.
In the section headed “Number of Lesions in Families,” it will
be noticed that, in this group of ten patients with rheumatism,
all the other members of all the ten families gave fifty-nine
cases of rheumatism, only eight instances of infected tonsils;
seven of disease of the heart; nine of the neck; nineteen, of
nerves; nineteen, of internal organs, and ten, of special tissues.

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Dr. Weston A. Price,D.D.S.
Circling the world in the 1920s and 30s, Dr. Price and his wife
found the same sinister pattern among primitive populations, whether
isolated Irish fisherman, tribal African, Pacific islanders, Eskimos,
North and South American indians or Australian Aborigines. These
groups that followed their traditional nature-based diets enjoyed
good health and vigor and those that turned to the civilized diet
of processed, sugar-laden foods soon developed a variety of ills,
including misshapen bones and teeth - and the situation worsened
with each generations.
Dr. Price’s Focal Infection Theory is the major revolution in dental
and medical  history. Authored Nutrition and physical degeneration.