Oral Spirochetes, Similar to Syphilis and Lyme disease,

Produce Long-term Debilitating Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

William D. Nordquist, BS, DMD, MS, Inc.

2304 6th Avenue

619/236-7959

San Diego California 92101

Diplomate: American Board of Oral Implantology/ Implant Dentistry

Honored Fellow: American Academy of Implant Dentistry

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Oral Spirochetes: Their Relationship to Lethal and Debilitating Late-life Chronic Inflammatory Diseases: A clearly identifiable correlation has been made between Periodontal (Gum) disease and chronic inflammatory diseases including; heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune diseases, arthritis, and ultimately many cancers. These diseases are manifested throughout life but most devastatingly during the last two decades of life. This is when a great transfer of wealth occurs from elderly patients to their doctors occurs to treat these illnesses. Presently, these illnesses are overwhelming the economies in many countries including the United States. These diseases make life miserable for patients during the last years of their lives.

Even though spirochetes are indigenous in human populations from the beginning of time, the problems with these organisms has reached epidemic portions worldwide due to mixing of different strains of spirochetes from one population of the world to another. When no disease is produced from local spirochetes in an isolated population, distant populations do not have immunity when these strains of spirochetes are spread there due to immigration of populations. Spirochetes are almost conclusively being recognized as the culprits in this relationship between dental and chronic inflammatory systemic diseases. However, the analysis of the DNA of the various strains and epidemiologic studies of dissemination of the specific spirochete strains to different populations has not been funding or completed.   Both are costly endeavors.

Background: Based on the accumulation of years of research relating periodontal disease to heart disease as discussed in the book by William D. Nordquist BS DMD MS, The Stealth Killer: Is oral Spirochetosis the Missing Link in the Dental-Heart Disease Labyrinth?, a direct link between oral spirochetes and chronic systemic inflammatory diseases has been established. The actual mechanism in the relationship between periodontal (gum) disease and heart disease, as well as other systemic inflammatory diseases has become much better understood. Oral spirochetes, similar to those spirochetes that cause Lyme disease, stomach ulcers and syphilis, are implicated as the culprits in diseases including Alzheimer’s and other plaque-forming neurological diseases, diabetes, premature birth, autoimmune diseases, and, ultimately, cancer.

Initial research is showing that all spirochetes including; Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease), Helicobacter pylori (stomach ulcers), possibly Treponema pallidum (syphilis), and the sixty varieties of oral spirochetes, all can live and incubate in the gingival sulcus (trough between the gums and teeth). When the first periodontal disease lesion occurs as indicated by “bleeding gums,” these spirochetes can spread via the blood vessels in the diseased tissue.  They travel and take root throughout the body.

The relationship between dental and heart disease has been reported in the scientific literature and national news for several years; however, an understanding of, or probable theories as to why these relationships exist have been absent. Ever since the Surgeon General of the United States published a report on the relationship between periodontal and heart disease in 2000, much study on this subject has been completed. Health care expenditures for the top five most costly health conditions in the United States for 2000 and 2004, has provided insight into the economic magnitude and implications of the chronic diseases caused by oral spirochetes.

Heart disease is the most expensive disease to treat, followed by mental disorders and cancer. Health-care expenditures and lost productivity as a result of death and disability because of cardiovascular disease are projected to be $394 billion in 2005. This condition, caused by a single microorganism, most likely is the major contributory factor in health concerns that cost the healthcare system more than $204.2 billion in 2004 and nearly $1 trillion for the five-year period ending 2003.

Oral spirochetes, due to bacteremias resulting from a lifetime of episodic periodontal disease, are now implemented in numerous atherosclerotic lesions found in blood vessels.  The most infamous of these blood vessels are located in the heart and cause heart attacks.  Statistically, heart disease kills more Americans than all other diseases combined.  By the time most Americans reach a “ripe-old age”, more than 80% have atherosclerotic lesions in their blood vessels.  Similarly, approximately the same number of Americans have various degrees of periodontal disease. Consequently, oral spirochetes, which reside in the gingival sulcus next to teeth, cause more diseases than all other known diseases on earth.

The difficulty with spirochetes is that they produce an only recently discovered protected form, or “spore”, when they are treated with antibiotics.  By the time antibiotics attain a lethal concentration in diseased tissue, the spirochete has transformed to this protected form.  There is no known cure for syphilis, Lyme disease,  or atherosclerotic heart disease once the infection becomes distributed throughout the body and becomes one of the many chronic inflammatory systemic diseases. These diseases are presently incurable because the “spores” cannot currently be eradicated.  The disease always returns when the conditions are right, such as a lowered immune system, during the last two decades of life.

The amount of funding needed to complete the research in this most crucial area of medicine is astronomical and cannot be fully comprehended or calculated at this time. I foresee hundreds of millions of dollars of research funding to completely understand this spirochetal disease model and worldwide dissemination process and learn how to treat it.

DR. William D. Nordquist Speaking at this Event:

Each year ACE™, the Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics, offers a number of programs focused on the latest topics for dentists and their teams. The quality, relevance and practicality of ACE’s programs are unmatched in the industry and this year’s ACE™ 2009 Symposium on Periodontics & Systemic Health being held in Scottsdale, Arizona is no exception. With a focus on treating periodontal disease and incorporating the focus on the oral systemic connection into the dental practice, this years’ ACE Annual Symposium features notable, well-respected speakers and an opportunity that dentists and their teams cannot afford to miss.

Dentistry is evolving beyond the treatment of caries and the glamour of smile makeovers, in fact, it is looking at these more traditional dental practices in a whole new light. While the preservation and beauty of teeth is what the public expects from dentistry, we know that dentists are now, more than ever, an important part of the medical team. The increasingly important link between oral and systemic health is being strengthened every day by new and ongoing research. Today, dentists are in a better position than ever before to have a significant impact on the prevention of heart disease, premature birth and a quality of life that extends beyond a beautiful smile. offering their patients the ability to smile as a result of a longer, healthier life is where dentists can further impact and increase their value to their patients. No other medical professional is in the position that dentists are in today with regard to the prevention and early diagnosis of life threatening disease.

With all the research and knowledge that current studies on the oral systemic link now offer, the question remains how dentists could, and should, incoporate the implications of this new data into practice for the treatment and health of their patients. How does the typical exam and the conversation with the patient change? How do dentists begin to work as a part of the medical team for the overall health of their patients? What is the impact of the various treatment modalities for periodontal disease?

The ACE™ 2009 Symposium on Periodontics & Systemic Health was structured to answer all of these questions and more. This important meeting will help dentists and their teams sift through the research, determine what is relevant and practicable, and will teach dentists how to incorporate into their practices important patient communication and treatment planning that addresses the systemic health issues primarily visible to dental professionals.

“It is so hard to keep up with the latest science and thinking on the health impacts and periodontal disease and its treatment. That’s why this year’s ACE Symposium on Periodontics & Systemic Health is so important, even critical, to the practice of dentistry,” commented Dr. Rick Coker, ACE Board member and an organizer of this year’s program. “Today, dentistry is no longer only about treating caries and giving patients a new smile - it’s about saving lives. ACE’s programs routinely provide the unique combination of clinical education and business application that provides dental teams with the tools they need to put learning into practice. As a health professional, I can’t afford to miss the opportunity to attend this important even with my team.”

The ACE™ 2009 Symposium on Periodontics & Systemic Health is taking place in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 12-14, 2009 at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch.

The Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics™ (ACE™) is a community of dedicated dental professionals who strive to provide excellent patient care and who, through education, camaraderie, sharing of information & mentoring both in person & online, help each other succeed in the business of dentistry and life.

ACE™ strives to educate, mentor and share information to be the recognized leader in comprehensive esthetic dental education for dental professionals and the public. Through a strong educational background, ACE™ will help our members by showcasing the latest continuing dental education and encouraging them to achieve clinical excellence in cosmetic & esthetic dentistry

On this site you will find all that you need to make your experience at the ACE™ 2009 Symposium a memorable and productive one. Please take a few moments to look at the great program that we have put together. When you are ready to register, please click here or follow the link for online registration.

We look forward to seeing you in Scottsdale.

Sincerely,

Timothy E. Hale, DMD
Rick Coker, DDS
Ray Voller, DDS
Conference Committee Co-Chairmen
ACE™ 2009 Annual Symposium

I just spent my Saturday afternoon with one smart MD. He is a Electrical Engineer graduate of MIT who then went to medical school. He practiced at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angles until he set up his private practice in Los Angles. He became skeptical of traditional medicine and decided to study alternative medicine. He has independently come to the conclusion that antibiotics are ineffective for treating many chronic inflammatory diseases. He had read my book and wanted to meet me and discuss what he called “Oral Lyme Disease”.

Interesting to me is that this extremely intelligent physician knew nothing about periodontal disease. He had no idea that there were spirochetes in the mouth. Something is wrong with Medical School. We meet at my office in San Diego and since it was lunch time, our first communication was at lunch and I found out he had some dental issues.

To make a long story short, he has severe bone loss on teeth #18 and #19. #17, was partially impacted and in a horizontal position butting up to #18 and causing a deep pocket behind #18. He brought an x-ray with him and when I saw the bone loss, I told he I would find spirochetes. I did a microscopic examination on him and sure enough he was teeming with small fine fast moving spirochetes. Again, this MD had no idea that there were spirochetes in the oral cavity. He was shocked to say the least. I have found that the majority of MDs have no idea about periodontal disease. When he realized he had
what he called “Lyme” in his mouth, he was motivated to hear everything I had to say about periodontal disease. I had to re-define “Lyme” to Lyme Disease as Borrelia borgdorferi and oral spirochetosis as sixty-plus oral sprirochetes with one major player called Treponema denticola.

Since he was an engineer, he was interested in the electronics was was working with on electro-magnetic pulse. He noticed on my blog that I had stunned spirochetes with this device. Unfortunately, I had to report to him that I have had very little success with this electronics since it is very difficult to find the exact wavelength that any particular spirochete is sensitive. Almost all the spirochetes are different from one patient to the next. To be effective, it would be cost prohibitive and expensive to spend hours and hours searching the thousands of wavelengths until you find the one that will effect the particular spirochetes you want to effect. He said he would take the problem to MIT and see what the professors have to say.

We also discuses his interest in treating Lyme disease patients using the gingival sulcus as a test site for Lyme spirochetes. I told him that so far every confirmed Lyme disease patient I have tested also have a variety oral spirochetes. I also told him that there is cross-reactivity of oral spirochetes to Lyme in the Western Blot test for Lyme. He was extremely interested in this fact.

This MD was so motivated, since he himself was now tested positive microscopically for oral “Lyme” (periodontal disease spirochetes) by the time the afternoon was over, he was committed to purchasing a microscope “like mine” and is going to immediately start studying his spirochetes and see if he can effect them with some of his alternative medicine regiments. We also discussed whether Physicians have the right to treat
Oral Lyme Disease (Periodontal Disease). He felt that he had the legal right since it was a systemic disease and Physicians are responsible for the whole body, not just everything other than the oral cavity. Also, he is looking into getting an Hygienist. This is a very significant step for a Physician, but he realizes the systemic implications of oral spirochetes. If we can get these individual Physicians interested in treating Periodontal disease, maybe we can get some rational treatment for the disease in the future.
Dentistry sure hasn’t treated it effectively. Move over Periodontists, here come the Physicians.

William D. NOrdquist BS DMD MS

Periodontal disease and Lyme disease both are caused by spirochetes. The literature indicates that oral spirochetes can be a false positive or misdiagnosed for Lyme disease. This post shows spirochetes that were found in the gingival sulcus (or diseased gums) of a Lyme diseased family.

This was a family of three; a husband, wife and child. The wife, Joan, had the Lyme symptoms; however, even though the husband, Joe, and daughter, Annie, had the positive diagnosis of Lyme, they did not exhibit symptoms.

Joan’s story goes as follows; she had a tooth ache in the upper right first molar. When she sought treatment, her dentist found an abscess and performed a root canal procedure of the tooth. Shortly there after, she developed symptoms of constant gagging pain and twitching of her face on that right side. During the few months following the root canal procedure, this didn’t subside but gradually got worse. The dentist extracted the tooth and made Joan a dental fixed bridge that cemented on the tooth in front of the missing tooth and the tooth behind it.

Unfortunately, the pain and altered sensation progressively got worse until a physician diagnosed it as Bell’s palsy. She developed all the milder forms of the Lyme disease symptoms, as well. Later, she was diagnosed with Lyme disease.

When I examined her, I sampled gingival sulcus of the lingual, tongue side, of the second molars where there is consistently four millimeter pockets that shelter plaque very effectively in most patients. I found nothing. Then I remembered she story of Bell’s palsy on the upper right and re-sampled her plague. This time I found spirochetes. The video below is of these spirochetes.

Joe, was the more remarkable subject of the family and much more puzzling. His job required him to be an international traveler and was about to deploy as a civilian to the Middle East that following week. When I examined his dental plague, it was loaded with ugly looking extreme fast moving “large type” spirochetes. Even though he had more and more virulent looking spirochetes, he exhibited no symptoms. His “gums” however showed the “tell tail” bleeding findings signs of periodontal disease, however, no bone loss as yet. He had heavy accumulation of calculus.

The daughters had spirochetes, as well, but these were very sparse and inactive. I treated all with the Life Guard Protocol which will be discussed later.