The fight against the focal infection theory was mainly carried out by Doctors Percy Howe and John buckley.

Howe based his opposition on a study he conducted injecting rabbits with normal placid streptococcus bacteria secured from the mouth, not bacteria from an infection site or a root filled tooth.

In his investigation, none of the animals became sick or died. Buckley was unable to see how infected teeth which showed excellent evidence of bone repair after root canal therapy could possibly still be infectec. Then too, because some who had root filled teeth removed did not recover, he questioned the validity of the conclusion that a percentage of patients did get well due to the removal of a tooth or teeth.

The arguments of these two men were weak and they failed to consider or believe:

That poor nutrition and inherited genetic problems are also causes of degenerative diseases.

That oral bacteria do not act in the same manner as do the germs that cause measles, smallpox, mumps, scarlet fever, etc.

That when teeth become infected, oral bacteria find the dentin tubules an ideal cave-like hiding place, and these germs and their toxins- like the viruses that cause cancer - metastasize and escape to infect hearts, joints, kidneys, lungs, the stomach, eyes, and countless other tissues.

That what makes these bacteria so dangerious is their ability to become polymorphic; that is, to mutate, adapt, change, become smaller, anaerobic, more virulent, and more toxic.

That pregnant women or others experiencing a higher than normal degree of stress become particularly susceptible to diseases arising from oral infection sources.

By the mid-thirties, most physicians and dentists believed the focal infection theory to be correct and valid.

With the advent of penicillin, there arose the belief that antibiotics could cure all these problems, and little is heard today about focal infections.

About author:

Dr. George Meinig, DDS, F.A.C.D. is a Founder of the Association of Root Canal Specialists Discovers Evidence That Root Canals Damage Your Health Learn What to Do. Learn how Dr. George Meinig discovered that a meticulous 25 year research program, conducted by Weston A. Price, DDS, under the auspices of the American Dental Association's Research Institute, was buried by disbelievers of the focal infection theory. Along the way, Dr. Meinig has received many recognition citatons and awards, both Nationally and internationally. For further information visit http://www.1stultimategumsolution.com

Edited and prepared by Sung Lee, alternate author

This article can be reprinted freely online as long as the entire article with resource box are included.