Here is one of the early submissions…

No, we are not serious – but think of it! What if your child gets his er her first public showing and in a few years everybody know his or her pictures as you know this one up here?

So, make it happen, sit together with you child, or if they are older, supply them with paint, brush and paper, and let the creative juices flow. Beside the boost of creativity that will certainly help with the general health and well-being you are helping the Ark Family Center, Inc. which is a non-profit organization targeting today’s youth, encouraging personal growth and awareness, and providing seminars, as well as mentorship and leadership programs.

To make things easy for you, here is the

Entry Form for the Children’s Art Contest

Use of mercury to fill cavities in your teeth reminds me of the story of Marie and Pierre Curie who discovered radioactivity. As the story goes, they discovered this substance that they showed to their friends at social gatherings. They brought a vial of that substance and – as a type of party trick – showed that you could see that vial with your eyes closed! Today we know that this was a deadly trick. This was a radio-active substance that penetrated the closed eyelids easily and, reaching the retina, caused nerves to fire which caused the impression of ‘seeing’ the source of the radiation.

Today, knowing of the deadly dangers of radioactivity we would never get the idea of bringing a vial of Radium to a party to show our friends whether they can still see it with their eyes closed – we just know better! The same has to sink in about the dangers of mercury in our mouths. The fact that it is amalgamated with some other metals does not mean that none of the mercury is released. There is in fact clear evidence that grinding your teeth or even exposure to higher temperatures causes mercury vapor to be released from the fillings.

This is a fact that a good homeopathic or biological dentist takes into consideration when removing amalgam fillings and replacing them with a composite. It is unavoidable that mercury is released when drilling out these old fillings, but with the right precautions the risk of ingesting these poisonous gases can be eliminated for the patient as well for the dentist and his assistant.

Other shortcoming of amalgam fillings include:

1. Amalgam is not bonded to the tooth structure, therefore has to be packed into undercuts which are drilled by the dentist into the tooth so the filling does not fall out. This weakens the tooth even more and causes cracks in the tooth deep inside the cavity.
2. Amalgam has widely different physical characteristics than tooth structure. Being a metal, it will contract and expand at a higher rate than the tooth structure. This constant “pumping” effect will cause the already weakened tooth walls to develop even larger cracks.
3. Since amalgam is not bonded, the microscopic gaps at the margins allow for leakage of moisture and bacteria under the filling. This over time will cause a large cavity to grow under the filling, completely undetected, until the damage is so extensive that the tooth will succumb to an expensive root canal treatment, or the walls will break off. In both cases, we are looking at extensive cost and effort to repair damage.

The following demonstrates how a state of the art dental practice, following the proper safety protocol, handles the replacement of amalgam fillings…

The following presentation explains how gum disease develops and describes remedies that you can receive.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is a transcript of the video:

Speaker 1: The World Health Organization 2003 and 2006 reports, indicate that over 85 percent of adults in the United States have gum disease. Most don’t even realize it. In the beginning, symptoms can be slight, a little bleeding when you brush your teeth or puffy gums. But if not dealt within the early stages, periodontal disease can lead to receding gums, lost teeth and chronic bad breath. Studies have also discovered an association between infected gums and other dangerous health conditions. Scientists have published over a 1,000 studies showing a possible link between gum disease and systematic illnesses like heart disease, respiratory disease, blood clots, strokes, diabetes and other dangerous health conditions.

Speaker 2: My gums were a great deal more sensitive and a little puffy.

Speaker 3: And I always had some infected gums. And no matter what you do, it always comes back. And my mouth didn’t feel real clean, so I thought well maybe there is some gum disease going on that I don’t really know about.

Speaker 1: So, what exactly is gum or periodontal disease? How does it develop and what can you do about it? Between your teeth and your gums is a small valley called the sulcus or periodontal pocket, it’s only one to three millimeters deep and healthy gum tissue. Brushing and flossing usually keep this area clean and healthy. There are special cells in the sulcus that form a saliva like fluid that flows out of the pocket. The fluid is called cirvicular flow, and the body produces it to help keep the area clean. If food, plaque or tartar builds up in this area, the gums become infected. They will appear puffy and become tender. This early infection is called gingivitis and can progress to Periodontitis.

Unfortunately, most people with swollen gums will decide it is too painful to brush or floss and this just let’s the infection continue. As the infection worsens, the gums become even more inflamed and the infection may reach the bone supporting the teeth, so that the teeth become less stable. If the infection increases, the ultimate result is the loss of bone, teeth and gums. But the problem may not be limited to your mouth. The lining of the gum tissue beside the teeth is one to two cells thick. When bacteria has invaded these cells, small ulcers are formed that may provide a pathway for the bacteria to enter your bloodstream. Because the bacteria may threaten more than your teeth and gums, it is important to talk to your doctor about your risk factors and get professional treatment for any infected areas of your mouth.

Dentists have many options when treating your gum disease. The standard cleaning procedure is called scaling and root planing can help to remove plaque and tarter and reduce some of the bacteria involved    . Often the disease is extensive enough that this is only a partial solution. Since the condition is an infection, many dentists have attempted to place anti-bacterial medications in the sulcus to help kill the pathogens. But remember the cirvicular fluid that your body makes to clean your gum tissue, with an increased infection, the fluid flow increases sometimes as much as 30 times. It is impossible to maintain enough of the medication in the pocket to kill the bacteria, because the medication is constantly flushed out. In response to all these obstacles a new option has been developed, the Perio Protect Method. Using the custom formed Perio Trays antibacterial medication is directed to the source of the infection. The seals in the tray hold the medication in the sulcus long enough to kill the bacteria and control the infection. Your dentist will prescribe the best medication for your situation. And by wearing the trace for minutes each day, your infection can be controlled.

Speaker 4: I can do it at home; I didn’t have to have an appointment to go see anyone. That it was up to me to actually make sure that I got the process done in the way that it was described. I stick them in and hop on my exercise bike for a while, watch television. It is easy and it works.

Speaker 1: In fact, research from microbiologist shows that after 17 days of Perio Protect Treatment, 99.98 percent of the dangerous bacteria were killed. The Perio Protect Method overcomes previous obstacles, is easy, comfortable and a very effective option. While a serious medical condition, your periodontal disease does not have to diminish your quality of life. Now, that you understand what is going on in your mouth and some of the options you have, you can take control and put yourself back on the road to a healthy smile. Please don’t hesitate to ask your dentist or other medical staff about anything you have heard here, and let them help you conquer periodontal disease.

Speaker 5: I really feel good about smiling again.

Speaker 6: The end results were just great, so why wouldn’t you want to do it.

Speaker 7: My gums aren’t sore or sensitive like they used to be. And they all seemed to be more of a uniform color, a nice healthy pink, so I’m happy with that. And hopefully, I’ll get to keep my teeth longer.

I remember, many years ago, a friend bringing a vial containing mercury to school. Even as school kids we knew that this was dangerous stuff. At that time thermometers still contained real mercury and we had learned to be very careful if one of those broke. We were fascinated by that little sample of liquid metal in its securely sealed container our buddy had brought, and certainly the weight of it was real interesting. Nobody in his right mind would have gotten the idea though, to put this stuff into his mouth.

By today’s standard the situation in school, those many years ago, was very dangerous, but we just did not know better. Today we do and we would treat such a vial of pure mercury with much more caution than we did as school kids.

With amalgam, 50% of which is this liquid metal, we have to do the same learning. There might have been a time when we were not so knowledgeable about the dangers of amalgam and actually used it in our mouth. But now that we know what damage it can do we should avoid it like the black plague. Especially as we now have materials available that are much better suited for the repair of cavities.

Even historically the opinion about the use of amalgam was not undivided. For example, in 1843, the American Society of Dental Surgeons declared the use of dental amalgam a malpractice and forced its members to abstain from using amalgams.

The following video shows some more recent information about this material that many of us still carry in our bodies…

Click here to view the embedded video.

We are so used to and are not that much in awe, that we, after the first baby teeth fall out, grow another set of teeth. Usually we just accept as a fact that that is the last set of teeth we ever grow. One characteristic of a good scientist is, that he tries to overcome accepted knowledge, and the fact that we grow two set of teeth and no more, is certainly a challenge for a good scientist.

That is particularly challenging as there are observable facts that bodies are able to repair pretty severe damages. Bones grow together, cuts heal and the lizard can even grow back a whole tail.

As the blue-print for the whole body is contained in every single cell of the body, why stop at two sets of teeth?

Great progress has been made in answering this questions and now researchers were successful in using stem cells to grow a replacement tooth for an adult mouse, the first time scientists have developed a fully functioning three-dimensional organ replacement, according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers at the Tokyo University of Science created a set of cells that had the genetic instructions to build a tooth re-activated, and then implanted them into the mouse’s empty tooth socket. The tooth grew out of the socket and through the gums, as a natural tooth would. After eleven weeks the engineered tooth had matured. It had a similar shape, hardness and response to pain or stress as a natural tooth, and worked equally well for chewing. The researchers suggested that using similar techniques in humans could restore function to patients with organ failure.

Takashi Tsuji, PhD. Tokyo University of Science A ‘tooth germ’ implanted in a mouse’s jaw grew into a fully functioning tooth with the properties of a natural one.

The known history of dental implants begins more than 1300 years ago with this ancient Mayans artifact.

A 1930s archaeological dig led by Dr. Wilson Popenoe in Honduras turned up the ancient dental inlays. Similar discoveries were made when excavating ancient Egyptian artifacts. It was decades after these archaeological discoveries before the modern world caught up with the Mayans’ dental technology.

It was only in 1907 that a new and accurate method of casting gold inlays was announced by Dr. William H. Taggart. This technique was called the disappearing wax technique. He patented this technique but lost his patents when it was discovered that Dr. Philbrook of Denison, Iowa had written an article concerning gold inlay castings 25 years earlier. A copy of this article was found in the dental library of the University of Iowa.

• A 2007 study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and published by the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) nowadays is strongly associated with oral cancer among people even without traditional risk factors of tobacco and alcohol abuse.

Any dental office with attention to the holistic nature of dental treatment will  now offer an important adjunctive screening test, the Vizilite, to catch oral cancer as early as possible.

An annual ViziLite Plus exam, after a conventional visual examination, represents an integral part of comprehensive oral-cancer screenings. The screenings help dentists detect oral cancer in its early stages, as well as precancerous tissue. Detection promotes early intervention and prolongs life expectancy.

In the past, oral cancer predominately struck men, adults over 40, African Americans, smokers and heavy alcohol drinkers. The new cancer-screening procedure “ViziLite® Plus with TBlue630″ is simple, quick,  non-invasive, pain-free and effective. We found that ‘Humana Dental’ will cover the screening once a year beginning April 1, 2008, and we are sure that other insurance companies will or may have already started to follow.

Enamel has growth rings just like trees. The growth pattern may be interrupted at any phase during the embryonic phase of tooth formation, such as an intense episode of malnutrition, emotional stress or disease, giving rise to changes in these growth rings.

Sometimes these can be so pronounced that we see them as ring-like defects around baby or adult teeth, depending on when the growth retardation occurred in early life. These defects are sometimes called “enamel hypoplasia”, and are more prone to decay.

Depending upon which teeth they are found on and which part of the tooth they are located on, we can extrapolate to the time period, within a few months, in which that interruption happened in pre-partum or post-partum life.

Depending on other accompanying symptoms or irritations, it can be combined, if taken at least half an hour apart, with

• Belladonna (in case of throbbing pain or flushed face),
• Ruta (in case of jaw soreness, sore ligaments or soreteeth due to a heavy bite), and
  
• Pyrogenium (in case of infection, fever, sepsis).

In general, the more intense the symptoms, the more frequent the dosage. Increase the potency, however, only as the symptoms become more deep-seated on the psychological or emotional character of the person.

In the past, Early childhood caries was attributed to the fact that babies were sucking on their formula milk bottle in bed and going to sleep with it, thus creating an environment for the decay-causing bacteria to thrive on the pooled and fermenting milk on the surface of their teeth.

This has changed today and there seem to be other aggravating factors. Thorough attention has to be given by parents to keep the teeth clean from the bacteria that cause this condition.

Diet, as well as proper oral hygiene, Xylitol gels, possibly combined with some homeopathic remedies, as well as proactive dentistry can all be used to prevent or slow down this condition.

Facts about Early Childhood Caries:

1. ECC develops as a result of very early colonization of the baby’s mouth with streptococcus mutans bacteria.
2. The bacterial colonies covering the teeth, known as plaque, will process sugars coming into contact with them and produce acid as a by-product, which in turn will cause enamel to become softer and porous. These white chalky lesions will then progress into the more advanced decay seen in rotting teeth, especially in upper incisors of children between the ages of 2 and 4.

Recent research has shown that neither breastfeeding nor its duration are associated with the risk for early childhood caries. On the other hand, increased risk of ECC is often independently observed in associations with  poverty, and maternal prenatal smoking. Furthermore, some ethnic groups were independently associated with severe early childhood caries.