Modern dentistry does not offer nutritionally based preventative or adjunct treatments. Its treatment methods are based on the bacterial theory which modern science has shown is not accurate. Allow me to introduce you to two pioneers in the dental health profession who looked at the etiology of gum disease holistically. What they have found has dramatic implications for the future of dentistry.
These two dentists focused on the true nature of gum disease: Dr. Harold Hawkins and Dr. Melvin Page.
Dr. Hawkins believed that healthy tissues in the mouth are a result of cells throughout the body being adequately nourished with all necessary vitamins, minerals, and hormones. Any disturbance in the free flow of nourishment and in the removal of waste products at the cellular level can cause gum recession. He also noted that abnormal stress on the teeth and biting forces can degrade gum health. 1
Gum Health According to Dr. Hawkins
Dr. Hawkins believed the following conditions must be met to ensure for healthy oral tissues:
- There must be adequate minerals, vitamins, and hormones from an optimum, well balanced diet.
- The mouth and blood pH must be balanced, with good circulation down to the cellular level so that cellular waste products are released from the body.
- The gums require stimulation via the massaging action of the chewing process.
- If there are dental restorations, they must not inflame gum tissue or cause bite problems because they are too high or too low.
- The entire body must be restored to good health.
- There must be plenty of saliva flow to protect and mineralize the gums and teeth.
Hawkins’ pH and Calcium Measurements
Dr. Hawkins measured the saliva, blood, and urine concentrations of calcium and phosphorous in various states of periodontal health and disease. He found distinct imbalances in the bone-building minerals calcium and phosphorous in people with tooth decay and gum disease.
This valuable chart summarizes the body chemistry patterns from tests of hundreds of individuals. The horizontal line shows the saliva buffer pH. For our purposes, think that anything less than the ideal mark represents that the saliva, and therefore the body has become more acidic
than is ideal for optimal health. The vertical line shows the milligrams of calcium per cubic centimeter (denoted as cc, 5 cc = 1 teaspoon) of saliva. Again, for our purposes, the exact figures are not as important as the overall picture that Dr. Hawkins’ research revealed. In the chart, low salivary calcium (toward the top of the chart) usually indicates calcium is being utilized by the body, and high salivary calcium (toward the bottom of the chart) indicates that calcium is being excreted by the teeth or periodontium. Reproduced here, Dr. Hawkins’ research reveals the inner workings of the body. Finally, the distinct and previously hidden patterns that result in tooth decay and gum disease can be clearly seen. Here they are:
- Active tooth decay occurs with both high and low salivary calcium. The reason why both high and low salivary calcium causes tooth decay is that active tooth decay can be caused by the body excreting phosphorus into the saliva (not shown on this chart), calcium into the saliva, or both. Tooth decay is almost always associated with an acidic salivary pH.
- Both active gum disease (type I) and slower wasting gum disease (type II) happen when there is excess calcium in the saliva. This occurs primarily due to calcium being chelated from the periodontium into the saliva so that it can be utilized by other parts of the body.
- With severe gum disease the salivary pH is acidic; this generally indicates deeper imbalances in the body, poor digestion, and a lack of fat-soluble vitamins.
- Immunity to tooth decay and gum disease happens when the body is utilizing both calcium and phosphorous and when the body is not excreting those minerals into the saliva due to adequate calcium and phosphorous intake and utilization. The ideal point on the chart shows that when the salivary pH is balanced, tooth decay does not occur.
- Tooth decay near the gum line occurs when there is some acidity and some phosphorous loss, but the loss is not as severe as what would cause cavities on the crowns (tops) of the teeth.
- Dental decalcification and gum tissue recession happens to people who fall in a zone between tooth decay and gum disease. Their body is acidic and they are loosing calcium and phosphorous, but it is neither severe enough to cause tooth decay, nor severe enough to cause significant gum disease. But it is severe enough to cause a loss of enamel, and sensitive gum tissues which will be prone to recession.
The more acidic saliva pH associated with tooth decay and severe gum disease occurs because the body is in a state of acidosis. In this state, it is easier for the body to chelate calcium out of the periodontium to more vital organs. When the body’s chemistry is in balance and inflammation is low, calcium loss is minimized.2
In many cases of severe periodontal disease, large amounts of calculus and plaque are present as calcium migrates out of the teeth or jaw bones and into the saliva. This is what Dr. Price referred to as the “borrowing process,” in which minerals are transferred from the periodontium to other tissues and organs. In plain language, when minerals are pulled from teeth or bones, they do not just disappear—they migrate elsewhere in the body.
To regain oral health, people need to move back into the ideal range, which means removing acidity from their body and restoring calcium and other minerals back into their body.
pH and Oral Health
The pH figures in the chart from Dr. Hawkins represent buffer pH values. The salivary samples were in contact with the colorimetric hydrogen-ion test indicator for one hour and the pH test was taken in between meals. Dr. Hawkins believed this test showed the buffering ability of saliva. The pH figures in the chart are not meant to be used as a one-to-one reference with pH paper readings. You can test your urinary and saliva pH at home with pH paper or strips. But the ideal salivary and urine pH is 6.4 according to RBTI (Reams Biological Theory of Ionization). Any reading above or below 6.4 indicates your body is out of balance.
Dentist Melvin Page’s Good Chemistry
Dentist Melvin Page (1894-1983) began to make his mark in the dental field by developing dentures that fit better than those typical of his day. As a prosthodontist he noticed a serious problem: even patients without teeth needed new dentures within 2.5 years because their jaw bones would resorb (deterioriate) even more, causing their dentures not to fit! While investigating the cause of periodontal bone loss that progressed even in people without teeth or gum pockets, Dr. Page found the work of the dentist Dr. Weston Price. 3
The Biochemical Cause of Gum Disease and Tooth Decay
After 30 years and 40,000 blood tests, Dr. Page discovered and confirmed the biochemical conditions that cause tooth decay and gum disease: a disturbance in the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the blood. A ratio of 8.75mg of calcium per 100cc of blood, and 3.5mg of phosphorus per 100cc of blood, with normal blood sugar levels, creates immunity to both tooth decay and gum disease. The healthy blood sugar level is around 85 milligrams per 100 cc of blood. If those two criteria are met then alveolar bone resorption ceases.
When there is a low level of blood phosphorus over a period of several months then tooth decay develops. And based on this same research, when there is a low level of blood calcium over a period of months, gum disease begins.
A Real Cause of Calculus
Dr. Page thought calculus deposits above the gum line indicated a high blood calcium level in relation to the amount of phosphorous present. Conversely, as Dr. Hawkins found, irritated gums and calculus below the gum line toward the root of the tooth occurred when blood phosphorus becomes too high in relationship to blood calcium (in other words, the blood calcium is too low).
A Real Cause of Gingivitis
Dr. Page reported that gingivitis was caused by a low calcium and high phosphorus ratio. He wrote that the blood could often be “cleared up without surgical interference” by reducing the phosphorous level to the correct proportions. 6
Based on Dr. Page’s model, gingivitis can be a precursor to periodontal disease not because of bacteria, but because of the related, although less severe, imbalance in the blood chemistry.
To summarize, the method Dr. Page and Dr. Hawkins used to heal gum disease was to create balance between the calcium and phosphorous ratios in the blood. In the most common type of gum disease, which Dr. Hawkins called Type 1, the blood calcium is too low relative to blood phosphorous. In Type 2 gum disease, both the blood calcium and blood phosphorous are low. Both of these conditions are the result of significant vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
1 Hawkins, Harold Fuller. Applied Nutrition. La Habra, CA: International College of Applied Nutrition, 1977. 1-12. Print.
2 Hawkins, Harold F. “Nutritional Influences on Growth and Development.”International Journal of Orthodontia and Dentistry for Children 19.3 (1933): 307-12. Web.
3 “The Pioneers of Nutrition.” International Foundation of Nutrition and Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2014. <http://www.ifnh.org/Bio%20Page%20.htm>.
4 Page, M. Abrams, L. Your Body is Your Best Doctor. New Canaan: Keats Publishing Inc.;1972:196.
5 Forbes, R. The Hormone Mess And How To Fix It. 2004: 7.
6 Page, Melvin E. Degeneration, Regeneration. St. Petersburg, FL: Biochemical Research Foundation, 1949. Page 43. Print.