Tooth Truth: A Patient's Guide to Metal-Free Dentistry [Paperback]

Most dentists want to put crowns wherever they can remotely justify it. They are usually not necessary and lead to a root canal, then removal of the tooth.

I had a crown placed 8 years ago, I've had nothing but problems with it, 2 years after placement, I got a root canal. That did not solve the problem. Now, they recommend I get an apicoectomy. Lovely. More money for them. That is where they go into the gum and cut off the bottom of the root canaled tooth and fill it with something to stop the infection. This would stop the problems for a while, but eventually lead to my tooth being extracted. According to Dr. Jerome, this happens more often than not. There is a very predictable sequence of events. This is what keeps dentists in business.

It makes me sick to read this book after having 2 new crowns put in recently. Over $2,000. I could have saved that much by buying this book first.

Make an educated decision at the dentist's office. They are very motivated to keep you on the gravy train.

After reading this book, I know to take the shortcut and have the root canaled tooth removed. I can then have a partial made, thus ridding myself of the toxic dead tooth.

Most of this book is about the horrors of mercury. If you need to be convinced, this book will leave you with no doubts.

He explains many dental procedures and why one is better than others for certain patients. One in 5 crowned teeth dies. This puts you back on the root canal train, then the tooth extraction train. After much expense and pain.

Instead of a crown, they can do inlays or composite fillings. The dentist always wants you to do a crown. They have to saw away half of your tooth to do this, that sets you on the path of destruction.

Don't spend another dime at the dentist's office until you read this book.

Tooth Truth provides some shocking and disturbing information about the current practice of dentistry. By the end of the book, I could see why Dr. Frank Jerome, D.D.S., states in his introduction, "This book is a warning to every person that there is much danger every time they enter a dental office." The dangers include almost every aspect of dentistry, from treatments recommended to the materials used.

Dr. Jerome states, "It is common knowledge among dentists that over 95 percent of all dental treatments are optional." It is important, therefore, that the patient have the information to discern which of these treatments might be beneficial and which might not. Tooth Truth is a book for the consumer, a dental primer, providing an understanding of dental techniques and materials so that informed decisions can be made when your dentist makes recommendations.

For most people, the normal course of action is to accept a dentist's recommendations, have the treatment done, and then forget about it. In contrast, Tooth Truth provides a broader perspective, letting us know the consequences of a particular treatment ten years later so that we can decide whether or not it is wise to have a particular treatment in the first place.

For example, if you know that crowning a tooth increases the probability of needing a root canal later, then you might choose not to have a tooth crowned. Dr. Jerome explains how damaging it is to remove all of a tooth's enamel in order to crown a tooth. Furthermore, we learn that twenty percent of all crowned teeth die. Once the tooth dies, most dentists will want to do a root canal.

Rather than having a tooth crowned, Dr. Jerome suggests either a composite filling or an onlay. An onlay is bonded to the top of the tooth and allows more of the enamel to remain intact. An onlay is far less damaging to the tooth than a crown, yet dentists are less likely to suggest this option. Dentists are taught that they need to "do more crowns to increase practice profitability."

In fact, in quite a variety of areas, dentists do not seem to take into account the toxicity of the treatment being recommended. An example of this is the continued use of mercury in fillings. Dr. Jerome explores the use of mercury in dentistry and discusses its toxicity. Mercury is poisonous to the body, and has been proven to cause birth defects.

In addition to the health threats that mercury poses, the disposal of the mercury-containing amalgam is a noticeable threat to our environment. The mercury-containing amalgam filling is considered hazardous waste before it is put in your mouth, and it is also considered hazardous waste if the filling is ever removed from your mouth. (Yet, somehow it is considered safe while it is in your mouth!) A newspaper reports that 25 percent of the mercury in the air in Denmark comes from crematoriums. Mercury enters the sewers from dental offices and contaminates the environment. Some dental offices in Europe are required to use mercury separators on their sewer lines, but there is no such requirement in the United States.

As it turns out, it is actually quite common to find toxic elements in dental materials. Porcelain, for example, commonly has radioactive material added to help give it luminescence. Nickel, which is carcinogenic, is commonly found in braces and crowns.

In addition to toxic materials, dentists frequently recommend toxic procedures as well. An example of this is the root canal. Since the philosophy of dentistry is to "save every tooth," root canals are frequently recommended in spite of the fact that root canals are a heavy burden on the immune system. According to Dr. Jerome, the acute infection in the tooth may subside, but a chronic infection continues and the bacteria continue to produce toxins.

In contrast to the "save every tooth" philosophy, Dr. Jerome's philosophy is "no tooth is worth damaging your immune system." Dr. Jerome recommends having the tooth pulled rather than leaving the dead tooth in your mouth. In addition, he discusses the importance of properly cleaning the tooth socket after a tooth is extracted.

Those who are familiar with Dr. Hulda Clark's books (The Cure for All Cancers, The Cure for HIV and AIDS, etc.) will recognize this philosophy. In fact, it was through Dr. Clark's books that I first learned about Dr. Jerome, as Dr. Clark interviews Dr. Jerome in all of her books. Because of this connection between Drs. Jerome and Clark, I assumed that Dr. Jerome's new edition of Tooth Truth would have the same dental recommendations as Dr. Clark's latest book The Cure for All Advanced Cancers [see The New Times, September 2000 issue for review].

As it turns out, they have different recommendations in the area of fillings. Dr. Clark recommends laboratory-processed composite inlays (cured according to the procedure in The Cure for All Advanced Cancers so that no toxins can seep), while Dr. Jerome uses the composite Visiofil. This is a major difference in recommendations, and Dr. Clark devotees will want to take note of this difference.

However, in spite of this difference, Tooth Truth contains a wealth of information that can benefit everyone. Such technical distinctions and details may seem like too much information for the average dental patient, but, given the current practice of dentistry, it is no longer advisable that we blindly follow a dentist's recommendations. For the preservation of our health, it is essential that we become informed consumers in the area of dental care. Tooth Truth provides the details of dentistry to help us make those informed decisions.