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Your teeth can kill you!


In recent years there has been a reawakening of the dangers of oral infections and their potential disastrous effects on systemic health. Dead and infected teeth are often treated 'conservatively' in modern dentistry by performing a treatment called Root Canal Therapy. As dentists, we are indoctrinated that it is better to save a tooth at any cost - although the real costs to individual health and the society at large are usually totally overlooked by the teaching institutions. This may at first seem surprising considering that dentistry is touted as a health providing profession. On the other hand, if the dental profession were to accept the reality of Focal Infection (and the potential sources of this oral infection), we would have to reassess some of the fundamental treatment concepts being taught and practiced in dentistry.


 As filipinos, we often put our dental health low in our priorities. The saying " okay lang bungi or sira ang ngipin, basta kumakain araw-araw" has become our blatant excuse not to visit our dentists. Unknown to many, some people paid the price for this neglect. In my 4-year residency training at a tertiary government hospital in Manila, I attended to more than 50 morbidities associated with tooth infection and 2 patients even died due to systemic complications. I am sure that there are other similar unreported cases that will prove that this has become an alarming situation.


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