Please note: This article is based on the author’s personal experience. Symptoms and the course of the condition may vary from person to person.

Today, I’d like to talk about teeth.

I visit the dentist about twice a year for regular checkups and professional cleaning.

I brush my teeth after every meal and floss morning and night to keep the spaces between my teeth clean.

The reason I started taking such good care of my teeth was, once again, my allergies.

In my case, I believe dental problems may have been contributing to the worsening of my allergies.

Taking good care of your teeth may help improve allergy symptoms.

Removing Dental Metals

When I was struggling with pustulosis palmaris et plantaris (PPP) and eczema all over my body, I underwent various tests to try to identify the causes.

One of these was a patch test for metal allergies.

Small pieces of paper soaked in solutions containing different metals were attached to my back, and the reactions were checked after three full days.

I tested positive for gold, platinum, palladium, iridium, nickel, aluminum, and tin.

Palladium and iridium were among the metals used in my dental restorations, so I decided to replace my silver-colored fillings with ceramic ones.

Ceramic restorations are made to fit the shape of your teeth, which makes the process a little more involved.

First, the metal filling is removed, and an impression of the tooth is taken.

To make room for the ceramic piece, the dentist had to remove a little more of the tooth than usual.

Then, while waiting about a week for the custom-made ceramic piece to arrive, I had to wear a temporary filling.

And that temporary material had a strong solvent-like smell…

If you’re sensitive to solvent odors, I think it’s best to schedule this kind of treatment when your health is relatively stable and you don’t have any important plans coming up.

Once the ceramic piece was ready, it was fitted into place.

Ceramic restorations are not covered by Japan’s national health insurance, so I had to pay around 70,000 yen out of pocket.

After that, I enjoyed about seven years without any problems.

But one day, I started experiencing sensitivity in the tooth and went back to the dentist.

The ceramic had developed a crack. 😢

Was it simply the end of its lifespan, or was it because I tend to clench my teeth…?

Since replacing it had been such a hassle, I decided to go with an even harder material the second time: zirconia.

The cost was about the same.

However, harder isn’t necessarily better. If the material is too hard, it can wear down the natural teeth that bite against it.

It’s important to choose a material while considering factors such as how your teeth fit together.

At any rate, hopefully I’ll be able to leave my teeth alone for a good while now.

…That’s what I’m hoping, anyway!

Treating a Cavity

Some time after having the dental metal removed, I started feeling pain around one of my lower wisdom teeth, so I went to the dentist.

It turned out that the molar next to the wisdom tooth had a cavity. The plan was to remove the wisdom tooth and treat the cavity.

This turned out to be quite an ordeal.

Even after the wisdom tooth had been extracted and the cavity treated, the pain didn’t go away at all. A large amount of pus began to come out, and I could barely eat.

I had already had my other three wisdom teeth removed in the past, but none of those extractions had caused anything like this. This was the only one that resulted in such severe pain and pus.

The dentist couldn’t explain what was happening, but I came to believe that it might have been a case of focal infection.

A focal infection occurs when an infection develops in one part of the body and continues to persist there, creating a source of infection.

In fact, focal infections are said to be one possible factor in allergies.

The idea is that having an ongoing source of infection somewhere in the body may trigger or amplify allergic reactions throughout the body.

Besides teeth, the tonsils can also be a source of focal infection. I had my tonsils removed as part of my treatment for PPP.

The causes of allergies vary from person to person, and some people may have several contributing factors.

In my case, I believe there were multiple causes, and that infections involving my teeth and tonsils may have been among them.

Removing these sources of infection wasn’t enough to cure everything, but I gradually got better, as if one thin layer of skin were being peeled away at a time.

All the same, I believe that if we can develop a constitution that is less prone to infections by embracing a more natural lifestyle, many health problems may gradually resolve on their own.

And yet, our natural teeth are truly amazing.

Writing this article has reminded me all over again just how precious they are.

Thank you for reading! 😊