Dental & Gum Health: Some Recommendations

I noticed a new product the other day for gum disease and it made me think about dental health in general.

First, the new herbal/essential oil mouthwash is called Peri-Gum, developed by a US naturopath originally for his son who was suffering from advanced gum disease. In recent trials, it showed that gum disease scores dropped 20% and plaque levels 16%. It’s had some excellent write-ups – see here: http://www.peri-gum.com/Testimonials.htm  and a 29ml bottle will last about 3 months. 

The other products I like for killing nasties in the mouth eg bacteria or yeast, is Higher Nature Grapefruit Seed Extract or Biocare’s Oxypro. It’s a good idea to pop your toothbrush in some water overnight with a few drops of either of these added. So often a chronic mouth problem is down to constantly re-infecting yourself with nasties that grow happily on your brush.

Mouth health is really important as periodontal disease has been linked to many other conditions in the body, including heart disease. As well as oral hygiene, it’s important to make sure that your levels of oral health nutrients are good. For example, we know that Vitamin C deficiency is the cause of scorbutic gingivitis, that Vitamin D deficiency is linked to softening bone (of the jaw etc), Riboflavin deficiency is most often the cause of cracks at the corners of the mouth, that Calcium deficiency/malabsorption leads to bone density loss (and softening of teeth) and, finally, that having a Zinc deficiency means you’re unlikely to solve a chronic gum infection. No brainer, then, that if you want to look after your oral health, you need to make sure you have the right nutrients in your diet and/or supplement programme. CoQ10 is also important for bleeding gums, and protects the heart.

Vitamin K2 is also said to be a wonder for reducing oral health problems such as cavities, excess plaque and soft teeth. K2 is known to help metabolise calcium properly and should be a part of any diet or supplement with a hope of preventing osteoporosis. Thorne Research do a liquid version which is absorbable and can be swished around the mouth.

Day to day, remember to use the Aloe Dent range of toothpastes and mouthwashes, which is rich in CoQ10 and some of the essential oils also found in the Peri-Gum. Aloe Dent also make a vegan dental floss which is made purely from vegetable waxes.

For those of you who hate needles and the local anaesthetic at the dentist, there is something else you should know about. With thanks to John Scott at Foods Matter (www.foodsmatter.com) who wrote about this in the really useful FM forums, you can now get your dentist to use a cryogenic mouthpiece called GumEase G100, ‘which is made from soft, latex-free biocompatible PVC and filled with a saline solution. After being chilled in a temperature-controlled freezer to minus 7 degrees C, the device is placed around the gums, where it feels very comfortable and produces surprisingly powerful pain relief. Up to three devices can be applied in succession, for 4 minutes each, until the required amount of anesthesia is achieved. In tests, the average patient experienced 100% pain relief in 2 to 3 minutes, and this lasted for up to twenty minutes.

The device is suitable for use with most procedures, including fillings, crowns, extractions and root canals, as well as brace application and adjustment.

As this is a disposable item, so far as the dentist is concerned, the patient can take their gumEase devices home with them and, after re-freezing them in a household freezer, can apply them post-operatively if any pain occurs after their procedure.

Most dentists are still unaware of the existence of the gumEase, so you will need to speak with your practitioner well in advance of your appointment to check whether this type of anesthesia is routinely offered to patients and, if not, suggest that the dentist obtain a supply to try them. As the device could save dentists both time and money, s/he will probably be grateful for the suggestion!’

Supplies of the GumEase can be obtained in the UK from George Harrell at gharrell@cryodevices.com (£69.77, including shipping, for 10).

Interestingly, John also writes that ‘patients who have migraine and tension-type headaches who have tried this device have reported that, in addition to delivering effective dental anesthesia, the device has also provided relief from their headaches. In fact, such has been the success of the device in this respect that a trial is about to begin to test this new application.’

You should be able to get all the stuff I’ve mentioned, except the GumEase, from either Nutricentre or Goodness Direct. Click here for a link to these companies: http://www.purehealthclinic.co.uk/html/links.html

“ASPIRIN COULD BE BAD FOR YOU”

A study at Edinburgh Uni has found that daily use of aspirin almost doubled the risk of dangerous internal bleeding of the stomach or brain, while having no beneficial effect on preventing heart attacks or strokes.  There is pressure for ‘blanket prescribing’ of aspirin for all people who are middle-aged or above. The findings support 6 other trials which suggest that aspirin’s side-effects mean there is no net benefit for healthy people taking it.  These findings were presented in Barcelona at the European Soc. of Cardiology, attended by over 30,000 heart specialists.  Study jointly led by Prof. Gerry Fowkes. D. Mail 31.8.09

Ed’s Note: The vast majority of people taking aspirin daily are doing it to keep their blood thinner and prevent clotting as a preventative measure against heart disease and stroke. Never stop what you’re taking and talk to your GP, but I will say it again, there are several alternatives you could consider, without the side effects: Vitamin E, ginkgo and fish oils are all good blood thinners. Vitamin E Complex and good quality fish oils both also have a raft of other cardiovascular health benefits.

Thyroid Blood Tests Unreliable?

I reproduce one of Dr John Briffa’s blogs for you here as it is a great, if slightly technical so bear with it, explanation of why many people present with the signs of underactive thyroid, but are not treated as blood tests come back ‘normal’. I see this all the time and, as you know, I prefer to measure it by basal temperature and sometimes with a much more comprehensive blood test that measures free levels of T3 and T4 as well as TSH and thyroid antibodies for immunity problems to do with the thyroid. Have a read:

“This morning, I saw this piece of news on the BBC website which reports on the accusation some doctors (endocrinologists) have leveled that some doctors are misdiagnosing and mistreating thyroid disease. The main gripe appears to be the fact that some doctors are willing to entertain the diagnosis of low thyroid function (hypothyroidism), even when blood tests are normal. Moreover, thyroid hormone can be initiated in these patients, which may be harmful.

Key to understanding why some doctors do not put their full and utter faith in conventional blood tests when assessing thyroid function is a knowledge of the normal physiology of the thyroid. The thyroid is responsible for producing thyroid hormones which stimulate the metabolism and facilitate energy production in the body’s cells. The two main thyroid hormones are T4 and T3. A lack of thyroid hormone can lead to symptoms such as fatigue and lethargy, mental fatigue, low mood and/or depression, weight gain, sensitivity to cold, cold extremities, hair thinning and loss of eyebrow hair in the outer margins.

In an effort to stop this happening, thyroid hormone levels are monitored in the brain. If the levels of these fall, the pituitary gland (at the base of the brain) is instructed to secrete a hormone known as thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) which is designed to instruct the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormone. As thyroid hormone levels go up, this is sensed by the brain, which then reduces its production of TSH. This mechanism is believed to maintain adequate thyroid hormone levels in the majority of individuals.

However, if for whatever reason the thyroid fails to produce sufficient thyroid hormone levels, TSH levels may continue to rise, to the point that they become higher than normal. This finding, coupled usually with a low T4 level in the blood, is used generally used to diagnose low thyroid function (hypothyroidism). Sounds good so far, except that there are a number of reasons for why someone’s TSH level may not always be relied upon to give a definitive measure of someone’s true thyroid status.

One reason concerns the ‘normal’ ranges of hormones themselves. Some individuals believe that these are simply set too wide. What is regarded as ‘normal’ is essentially arbitrarily set. Many labs here in the UK set an upper limit of normal of TSH of 4.0 mU/L. However, other labs, I have noticed, set an upper limit of more than 5. Last week I saw a patient who came with a previous blood result from last year that stated an upper limit of 5.6. And now consider this: some years ago the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommended that the upper limit of TSH be lowered from 5.0 to 3.04. Overnight, as a result of this change, the number of individuals who could be classified as hypothyroid on the basis of their TSH level more than quadrupled.

Now, if assessing thyroid status with TSH levels is such a precise art, how is it that upper limits of TSH vary so widely?

Another reason why TSH may not reflect true thyroid status relates to the fact that the brain and peripheral tissues (outside the brain) can sense thyroid hormone levels different. Imagine, for a moment, that the tissues in the periphery are somewhat resistant or ‘numb’ to the effects of thyroid hormones (in a way similar to the situation when tissues become resistant to insulin). But let’s imagine there is no such problem in the brain. Then what can happen is the brain thinks there’s enough thyroid hormone around, while the rest of the body is in fact deficient in thyroid hormone and therefore exhibiting the symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism.

Even if the brain correctly senses a deficiency of thyroid hormone, that does not mean the pituitary will automatically respond appropriately. It is recognized that thyroid failure can be secondary to failure of the pituitary gland to produce sufficient TSH. This condition, known as secondary hypothyroidism, is traditionally characterized by low levels of TSH. However, it is possible that less severe failure of the pituitary may lead to ‘normal’ levels of TSH in individuals who have a genuine problem with hypothyroidism.

To my knowledge, none of these mechanisms have been nailed down. However, all of them, to my mind anyway, represent plausible explanations for how someone with signs and symptoms suggesting hypothyroidism can end up with ‘normal’ thyroid hormone test results.

Further doubt about the validity regarding ‘normal’ TSH levels comes from research which has linked higher TSH levels (though still within the ‘normal’ range) with an increased risk of weight gain and cardiac-related death. See the previous blog posts here and here for more about this.

So, bearing this in mind, I don’t think it’s too unreasonable that some practitioners do not to put their full and utter faith in conventional thyroid blood tests and their traditional interpretation when assessing thyroid status. It seems that some practitioners seem to be aware of the limitations of the traditional approach, and may prefer to treat the patient rather than the test results. It is, I believe, possible for individuals to present what looks, on the face of it, to be a clear case of hypothyroidism but, at the same time, yield ‘normal’ thyroid function tests. It is also possible for these individuals to find their health transformed on the initiation of thyroid hormone therapy.

Of course, there is a risk to treating with thyroid hormone, and they most certainly should not be doled out like sweeties. There is some thought, for instance, that thyroid hormone therapy can increase the risk of osteoporosis. However, if treatment is really surplus to requirement, then side effects such as a rapid pulse, undue anxiety and sleeplessness usually give this away.

And while there are risks to treating, what I think is sometimes forgotten is that there are risks associated with NOT treating too. Because if someone has genuine hypothyroidism (even if blood tests are normal), then not treating can consign them to a life of fatigue, low mood, depression and weight gain about which they often can do very little. Make no bones about it: undiagnosed and untreated hypothyroidism can have a devastating effect on health and quality of life.

Worse still, individuals with a genuine problem can end up being persuaded that, in the light of normal test results, their issues are all in their mind or perhaps simply due to ‘depression’. The suggestion appears to be that the tests can’t be wrong and that the doctors who treat such individuals must be. Are we to believe that individuals whose symptoms strongly point to low thyroid function improve out of sight on thyroid hormone therapy can only be exhibiting some glorified placebo response? Or perhaps their recovery was just a figment of their imagination. Or their doctor’s. Silly people.” John Briffa blog, March 09.

The Hidden & Painful Cost of Statins

Dr. Andrew Bamji is a consultant in rheumatology at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup who helps people with joint problems & arthritis.  He was diagnosed with severe tendon inflammation which was triggered by the statins he was put on by his GP because his cholesterol was 9.2.  He says that if someone has had a heart attack statins are an important tool in preventing another, but that the problem is statins are being handed out ‘willy-nilly’ with very little apparent benefit.   Many patients face side-effects in return for the marginal protection statins can offer.  It’s time the medical profession realised this.   Each form of statin causes night cramps, muscle pain, severe muscle disorders known as myopathy & also fatigue.

 

He realised that many of his patients with musculoskeletal conditions such as polymyalgia were on statins.  When he advised them to stop taking them, their problems went away.  Statins only marginally increase heart protection.  If a patient has heart disease & high cholesterol the chance of their dying from a heart attack over 4-6 years is about 8%.  If they’re given a statin every day, this decreases to about 6% or 7%.  If you take statins without any problems then there’s no reason to abandon them, but the idea of their wide-spread prescription, given the minimal & questionable benefit & potential side-effects, is just nonsense.  He says that as a patient who has thrown his statins away, he is happy to take his chances. D. Mail 27.1.09

 

Ed’s Note: I offer this slightly sensationalist letter about statins only because I have come across problems with statins more and more the last couple of years. It’s worth considering whether symptoms of any kind began after you started any new medicine or supplement – most often when I mention this to patients, it hasn’t occurred to them. It should; it’s very common.

HRT COULD RAISE HEART ATTACK RISK BY 25%

A study of 700,000 women found HRT increases the chance of a heart attack by almost a quarter in women aged between 51 & 54.  Using it for over 4 years could raise the risk by 59%.  The research was carried out by Ellen Lokkegaard at Rigshospitalet in Denmark and was published in the European Heart Journal.   NB: It was not found to raise the risk significantly in older women.

CALPOL LINKED TO INCREASED RISK OF ASTHMA IN CHILDREN

Giving young children Calpol or other paracetamol increases the risk of them developing asthma symptoms. In a study of 200,000 children in 31 countries, children aged 6 and 7 who took paracetamol at least once a month were found to have 3 times the risk of having asthma symptoms than those never given it.  Experts said it should only be used for high fever over 39C and not for comfort. It also increased eczema, runny nose & itchy watery eyes.  The study was published in The Lancet on 19 Sept. 08 and was led by Prof. Richard Beasley of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand.

 

Please note Viburcol from the Heels range is a great alternative to calpol when you need to comfort a child. It is great for teething, general restlessness and when they are feeling out of sorts. Just a few drops on the tongue works wonders. Homeopathic, cheap, perfectly safe and useful for any age, from day old babies upwards…so use this instead.

New NAET Vials for HPV/ Cervical Cancer & Flu Vaccines

Not that I agree with these vaccines necessarily, but for those of you who have had your NAET basics done, just so you know I will shortly have the vials of the new HPV Cervical Cancer vaccine and this year’s flu vaccine in. So, book in to clear them preferably before you plan to have either of these vaccinations, or afterwards, to minimize any risk of future effects on the body.

 

Also, I will shortly have the new homeopathic flu vaccine in so choose that if you want an alternative to the normal flu vaccine. They won’t be on the e-shop, so please ask me by phone or email if you want one. I haven’t had the price confirmed yet, but they are normally around £15 for a year’s vaccine.

INDIGESTION DRUG ‘CAN RAISE BRITTLE BONE DISEASE’

 

Drugs used by millions of patients in UK to treat indigestion can increase the risk of osteoporosis,  researchers warn. Their study shows long-term use is linked to weakened bones later in life.  The drugs are called proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, are prescribed by doctors and sold over the counter.  The research team in Canada found those using them regularly for 5 years had a 44% higher chance of a hip fracture.  The NHS spends around £400m a year in England on PPIs such as lanasoprazole & omeprazole – sold over the counter as Zanprol – to treat indigestion, heartburn & peptic ulcers. 

 

The researchers at Manitoba Uni in Canada studied over 60,000 adults aged over 50, including nearly 16,000 who had suffered a fractured hip, spine or wrist due to osteopororis.  When they analysed prescription records, they found those with hip fractures were 62% more likely to have used PPIs for 5 years or more than those with healthy hips.    For those on the drugs for 7 years the risk of fracture soared by more than 400%, according to the study published in the Canadian Medical Assoc’s Journal. Daily Mail 16.8.08.

 

Ed’s Comment: In my experience, most people taking antacids and indigestion drugs are taking the exact opposite of what they need: more acid. For techy reasons I won’t go into now, often the signal to stop producing acid in the stomach doesn’t get triggered and so we keep on producing more and more. The reason? Because we don’t produce enough to trigger the body to think there is enough in the stomach. I routinely test this and 9 times out of 10, it is indeed a under acid problem, not an over acid one. If you want to know which yours is, please ask me for a free test sheet that you can do simply at home using lemon juice or bicarbonate of soda. Simple when you know how!

New Study Shows the Dangers of Fosamax (osteoporosis drug)

Fosamax is the most widely used drug treatment for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. It is also available under the generic name of alendronate.

A new study has shown that women who have used the drug Fosamax are nearly twice as likely to develop atrial fibrillation, which is the most common kind of chronically irregular heartbeat. The study showed that Fosamax was associated with an 86 percent higher risk of atrial fibrillation compared with never having used the drug. Atrial fibrillation can cause palpitations, fainting, fatigue, or congestive heart failure. They can also lead to embolic strokes.

Fosamax works by killing osteoclasts – the cells that break down bone so that osteoblasts can then rebuild them.  The theory behind this drug is that if you kill off osteoclasts, bone will get denser but although this is true, bone also becomes weaker as a result.  This is because bone is a dynamic structure that requires the removal of unhealthy bone and replacement with new bone to stay strong. Fosamax does not build any new bone. It only kills the cells that break bone down, so your bone is not undergoing its natural regenerative process.

Fosamax has been linked to many different side effects including increased risk of ulcers, liver damage, gastric and esophageal inflammation, renal failure, skin reactions, hypocalcemia (calcium in your blood is too low), osteonecrosis (jaw bone death), serious eye inflammations and possible blindness.  Now this new study has also shown it to be linked with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine April 28, 2008; 168(8):826-31

Did You Realise…?

That conservatively estimated figures suggest that at least 26,000 people in Britain die from an adverse reaction to a medicine every year. This compares to only 3,200 in road accidents. I was stunned at that!

 

Studies show that a total of 1,489 drugs were found to be associated with adverse reaction although 51 of those seem to cause the most problems. There seemed to be a disproportionate amount from immune modulators such as steroids, and pain relieving meds. If you want to see what the drugs are, try tinyurl.com/44bk9g. Source Arch Intern Med 2007, Foods Matter May 08.

 

Another study suggests, though, that doctors don’t believe you when you tell them you think you are reacting to a medicine. Statins used to lower cholesterol, for example, are known to cause muscle problems, nerve pain in the hands and feet, yet in a survey 32% of patients were told there was no link to their symptoms, 39% said their doctor said a link was ‘possible’ and 29% said their GP wouldn’t say either way. The journal Drug Safety, published the study and the research leader concluded that ’physicians seem to commonly dismiss the possibility of a connection. This seems to occur even for the best-supported adverse effects of the most widely-prescribed class of drugs.’

 

With the advent of the internet, it gives us all a lot more ability to check things out to see if new symptoms have happened since you started a new medicine and there is a causal link. It’s not always the case, obviously, but I have to say one of the first things I consider with patients is did a chronic symptom start after they changed meds and is there a link in the research to that drug. I find it more often than you would think – and often GPs are more than happy to help find a way round it if you talk to them.