I love science.  I always have.  In fact, when I was a Campfire Girl, my vest bore a symbol that I chose for myself—an atom with electrons zooming around it.  I was 8 years old—kind of an odd kid.

I still love science, and I’m a stickler for accuracy in scientific reporting. As a result, I often feel compelled to rectify or clarify incorrect perceptions.

A biggy" in my book", is our frequent confusion of correlation and causation.  STATS.org says it best: “In theory, these are easy to distinguish — an action or occurrence can cause another (such as smoking causes lung cancer), or it can correlate with another (such as smoking is correlated with alcoholism). If one action causes another, then they are most certainly correlated. But just because two things occur together does not mean that one caused the other, even if it seems to make sense.”

There are many correlations with regard to disease in dentistry, but there are far fewer causation relationships.  There is, for example, a definite correlation between smoking and periodontal disease, but smoking doesn’t cause periodontal disease—our body’s response to oral bacteria does.  There is also a correlation between high-sugar diets and tooth decay, but sugar doesn’t cause cavities—those little sugar-loving, acid-producing bacteria do.  

Of course, this is not to say that you should start smoking and eating a high-sugar diet, or if you are already doing these things, continue.  These behaviors can contribute to a worsening of the problems, even though they don’t cause them directly.

Do high-stress lives cause teeth clenching?  No. Does pregnancy cause soft teeth?  No. Do impacted wisdom teeth cause the remaining teeth to become crooked?  No again.  Do silver-mercury fillings cause MS, fibromyalgia, or any of the host of other maladies that have been attributed to them?  Show me the studies.
It may seem logical that if we decrease the stress in our lives, our jaws will relax.  This may occur, but I know people with stressful lives who have never clenched their teeth.  A mother-to-be, with morning sickness, who gets a couple new cavities, might have difficulty cleaning her teeth thoroughly.  We also know that teeth drift forward over the years—whether wisdom teeth are present or not.  As for the safety of silver-mercury fillings, I always wondered why dentists, who are removing these fillings all day, and breathing in the mercury vapor, don’t have higher incidences of systemic diseases?

Just remember that our bodies are complicated machines. There’s often a lot more going on than we might realize. So, be wary of your personal biases in health, and only accept causality when there are compelling reasons. 

Keep smiling!

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Caron Nelson Glickman, DDS has been helping her patients achieve and maintain healthy smiles in Duvall since 1992.

          For more information, contact 425-788-1551.

          Caron Nelson Glickman,DDS
          26425 NE Allen Street, #102 • Duvall
          425-788-1551 • caronnelson@comcast.net
          www.great-smile.com