Focal Infection*

Woods, Alan C.

doi:10.1016/s0002-9394(42)91859-2

Cited by 14 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Russell Cecil, best known for his textbook of medicine, embraced the concept 47–50 . In 1933, he reported that “the keystone of the modern treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is the elimination of infected foci.” 51 The Mayo brothers in Minnesota became convinced that the tonsils were a major source of focal infection 52…”

Section: Periodontal Disease As a Risk For Systemic Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding and Managing Periodontal Diseases: A Notable Past, a Promising Future

Williams

2008

Journal of Periodontology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Throughout the 20th century, an understanding of the role of causative bacteria and the susceptible host in the initiation and progression of periodontal disease(s) has emerged from the research efforts of scientists and clinicians worldwide. Over time, specific bacterial types, such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, were discovered and shown to be important in the cause of periodontal disease. At the same time, inflammatory mediators, such as prostaglandins and interleukins, and enzymes, such as matrix metalloproteinases, were discovered and found to be important participants in the destruction of periodontal tissues. Acquired and inherited environmental risk factors began to emerge that could explain, in part, the susceptibility of individuals to periodontal disease. The discovery of antibiotics, beginning with sulfanilamide, penicillin, and streptomycin, led to additional strategies for managing periodontal disease. With the discovery of the mechanism of action of aspirin, scientists began to develop new strategies for treating diseases that focused on controlling inflammation. Thus, host‐modulating therapies emerged for the management of periodontal disease through the control of inflammation. At the end of the 20th century, an old concept in medicine and dentistry reappeared: that the infection and inflammation of periodontal disease in the mouth could reach distant sites via the bloodstream. Apparently oral disease could, in fact, contribute to systemic diseases, such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and adverse outcomes in pregnancy. This concept of the oral health–general health connection is now supported by sound and rational evidence‐based observations. Clearly, the 21st century has arrived with a new understanding of the nature of periodontal diseases based on a notable era of discovery. There is a promising future for preventing and treating this common and troubling condition that affects not just the mouth but also the whole body.

show abstract

Section: Periodontal Disease As a Risk For Systemic Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding and Managing Periodontal Diseases: A Notable Past, a Promising Future

Williams

2008

Journal of Periodontology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With the advent of the 1930s, some began to observe that: ‘If this craze of violent removal goes on, it will come to pass that we will have a gutless, glandless, toothless – and I am not so sure that we may have, thanks to false psychology and surgery, a witless race’ (40) and as stated in the American Journal of Ophthalmology: ‘Stripped of tonsils and teeth, often the victim of colonic irrigation, abdominal, and genito‐urinary operations, the patient may finally be reduced to only those organs necessary for existence, while all the time his ocular disease progresses remorsely to blindness’ (41). Such surgery for focal infection was three times more common in the rich than the poor in England and Wales and twice as common among the rich in the United States (42).…”

Section: Ancient Historymentioning

confidence: 99%