I just read a very interesting book, "The Edgar Cayce Handbook For Health Through Drugless Therapy" by Dr. Harold J. Reilly and Ruth Hagy Brod. I was struck by the fact that all of his recommendations fit perfectly with the Keyes program I recommend to prevent gum infections or periodontal disease.
Over the years the name Edgar Cayce has come up repeatedly whenever psychic phenomena is discussed. He was nicknamed the sleeping psychic due to the fact that he would go into a deep sleep like trance and answer peoples specific questions about how to heal their illnesses.
You must of course consider that his recommendation were given in response to an individuals question and may not be right for your particular problem. We are all unique individuals and each of us must find our own way to achieve optimal health. Nevertheless many of his recommendations are interesting and unique.
Getting Rid of Bad Breath In response to a question about how to get rid of bad breath (a classic symptom of gum disease) he recommended swallowing Glyco-Thymoline as an intestinal antiseptic two to three times a day. The dose he recommended was 6 drops in a glass of water.
Glyco-Thymoline is a very old mouthwash which is available in many health food stores. I frequently recommend this in the Water Pik to wash bacteria from the gums. I am sure during this procedure the average patient will swallow some of the wash. Glyco-Thymoline is relatively non-toxic and very anti-bacterial.
Controlling Tooth Decay When asked how to control tooth decay he recommended a massage of the teeth and gums with equal parts of baking soda and salt daily. He urged that a finger be used to work the paste into the gum collar. (The brushes in use at that time were much stiffer than today and therefore less effective in reaching the collar)
He recommended that once a month you add one drop of chlorine to a pint of water and use as a rinse. He cautioned against swallowing and recommended brushing after this rinse.
Dr. Paul Keyes discovered in 1960 that the bacteria Streptococcus Mutans was primarily responsible for tooth decay. The streptococcus bacteria are easily killed by salt.
Here again the psychically channeled instructions appear to fit nicely with the science discovered years later. Chlorine is toxic and for that reason is extremely anti-bacterial. Daily we are urged by the toothpaste companies and the American Dental Association (ADA) to brush with fluoride. Fluoride is far more toxic than chlorine and therefore more dangerous. Even the pro- fluoride ADA recommends that children use a pea sized drop of tooth paste in order to avoid a potential for a toxic dose. Have you ever seen a commercial for toothpaste demonstrate the use of a pea sized drop?
Sudden Onset of Tooth Decay In response to a question about the sudden onset of tooth decay over the last three years he took another approach. He recommended an iodine preparation Atomidine to stimulate the immune system on a cyclical dose. He had them use one drop for five days and then skip two weeks. They were instructed to keep this up for a full year as well as have all the decay tended to and fixed.
Iodine is necessary for the proper functioning of the thyroid. Hypo-thyroid (under functioning) will produce weakness in the immune system. Tooth decay is one symptom that the immune system has not adequately defended you from the bacteria in our world. By having the decay removed there were fewer nests or colonies of bacteria to spread from tooth to tooth and the immune system could better fight the bacteria.
Perhaps the relationship between iodine and fluoride explains why laboratory studies show fluoride increases decay. By ingesting fluoride you can inhibit iodine and therefore the thyroid. Several large blinded human studies and on animals show that fluoride had no beneficial effect in reducing decay and in some studies increased the damage. Remember that fluoride like mercury is a cumulative poison and the less you are exposed to such a poison the better off you will be.
Prickly Ash Bark and Prevention During his trances Cayce frequently recommended Ipsab for gum and teeth problems. The ingredients of Ipsab are primarily prickly ash bark, sea salt and flavorings.
The American Indians used this bark for tooth care and called is "toothache bark". They taught the children to strip a thin sliver of bark from this tree and use it to clean in between the teeth and down in the gum.
The pre-Columbus Indians had very little decay compared to our day but they did have gum disease. By using the anti-bacterial effect of fresh bark they not only cleaned their teeth they medicated them with anti-bacterial cleansers.
Conclusion Over and over ancient wisdom encounters common sense and modern science. Keeping your teeth means keeping them clean. How you achieve that depends on personal choice. I hope this information has been informative and will help you and your family prevent dental problems in the future.