Tooth Decay and Diabetes Are the Same Disease

How can you possibly say this?

At first glance, this sounds ridiculous. Diabetes has to do with a glandular organ called the pancreas which is situated behind and slightly under the stomach and tooth decay is a rotting process which occurs in hard tissues of the teeth. The teeth are in the mouth and the pancreas in the peritoneum. They are very far from each other in the body space.

Have they anything in common?

Both teeth and pancreas are organs of digestion. The teeth are at the very beginning of the process, cutting up the food and mashing it in saliva into a suitable form to swallow into the stomach. When the stomach has done its job of further breakdown by acid, the food is pushed on into the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum.

The pancreas

It is here that the pancreas secretes its contents to bring about further breakdown by enzymes and begin the process of absorption. This process harvests the building blocks of the bodys biology from the food and takes it into the bloodstream to supply the cells of all the organs. One of these building blocks is carbohydrate (sugar), a major source of energy for the cells. The pancreas also produces a hormone called insulin which it secretes into the blood. It is this hormone, insulin which carries carbohydrate into the cells (insulin transport mechanism) where it can be burned as fuel to produce energy.

Diabetes

When the amount of carbohydrate that we bring into our bodies is excessive, the workload of the pancreas is greatly increased and this could be termed an overload. There are many consequences of this overload, one of which is cells becoming resistant to the insulin. One of the effects of this is the build up of carbohydrate (sugar) in the bloodstream (called hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar) which is the hallmark of the condition known as diabetes. There are many other effects on and consequences for the pancreas in the short and long term as well as many other effects and consequences for other organs and the body in general. Yet it boils down to carbohydrate (sugar) and the ability of the pancreas to deal with it. We could say therefore, that diabetes is the effect of diet-related carbohydrate overload on the pancreas.

Tooth decay

The major factor in tooth decay is what they call sugar frequency. This could equally be called carbohydrate frequency. This is the number of times per day that we put sugar (sweet things) into the mouth. Each time we use or bring carbohydrate into the body via the mouth, it (the carbohydrate) is broken down into an acid by the bacteria in the mouth. The acid environment thus produced tends to demineralise the enamel (or dentine) of the tooth in the at risk stagnation sites. These are sites on the tooth that are difficult to access by the common methods of hygiene. By repeatedly and or constantly producing the acid trauma at these sites , defects are created in the barrier of the tooth surface. These defects are populated by bacteria which thrive in the acid conditions and the cavity (decaying defect) is produced. The process continues and the cavity gets bigger. We could say therefore, that tooth decay is the effect of diet-related carbohydrate overload on the teeth.

So the picture emerges...

The diseases of tooth decay and diabetes represent the effects of diet-related carbohydrate overload on the two different tissues. Diet-related carbohydrate overload is simply the reflection of our tendency to use sweet taste as a means of comfort or reward. It is thus a method we use to comfort ourselves in stress (feelings of discomfort or upset). It is no more than a sweet habit, - an addiction to sweet things.

Diabetes and tooth decay speak of our discomfort with ourselves and the circumstances of our lives and the negative feelings that we do our best to sweeten.

Tooth decay and diabetes are the same disease with the same origin, but reflected in two different organs of digestive function.

My name is Philip Christie. I qualified as a Dental Surgeon at Trinity College, Dublin (Ireland) in 1980 and completed a Masters Programme in Dental Science, again at Trinity College Dublin, by research in 1995. I have been working full time in dental care either in general practice or specialist practice since qualification. My main interest is and always has been prevention. My real qualification is 23 years experience in dealing with real people and their problems face to face, as a clinical practitioner. I am the author of Something To Chew On: A Mouth Map To Health. It is a Health Manual with a difference. Different because it is designed for the future and for success. It is different because it gives the power back where it belongs, to the persons own self. Different because it prevents problems at source and saves on treatment and cost! Philip.christie3@ntlworld.ie http://www.peopleaspartnersinmedicine.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Christie

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