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= Weston_A._Price =
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Introduction
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Weston Andrew Valleau Price (September 6, 1870 - January 23, 1948) was
a Canadian dentist known primarily for his theories on the
relationship between nutrition, dental health, and physical health. He
founded the research institute National Dental Association, which
became the research section of the American Dental Association, and
was the NDA's chairman from 1914 to 1928.
Price initially did dental research on the relationship between
endodontic therapy and pulpless teeth and broader systemic disease,
known as focal infection theory, a theory which resulted in many
extractions of tonsils and teeth. Focal infection theory fell out of
favor in the 1930s and was pushed to the margins of dentistry by the
1950s.
By 1930, Price had shifted his interest to nutrition. In 1939, he
published 'Nutrition and Physical Degeneration', detailing his global
travels studying the diets and nutrition of various cultures. The book
concludes that aspects of a modern Western diet (particularly flour,
sugar, and modern processed vegetable fats) cause nutritional
deficiencies that are a cause of many dental issues and health
problems. The dental issues he observed include the proper development
of the facial structure (to avoid overcrowding of the teeth) in
addition to dental caries. This work received mixed reviews, and
continues to be cited today by proponents of many different theories,
including controversial dental and nutritional theories.
Early years
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Born in Newburgh, Ontario, Canada, on September 6, 1870, Price
graduated from the dental college of the University of Michigan in
1893 and began to practice in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He moved to
Cleveland, Ohio, that same year.
Technology development
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Price conducted research to develop technological solutions to dental
diseases. He invented and improved the pyrometer dental furnace for
the manufacture of porcelain inlays that included the fusion of metal
and porcelain. He researched improvements in producing dental
skiagraphs in the early 1900s and developed special instruments for
studying the effect of X-rays on cancer. Much of this work was
presented at various professional societies in which he had
membership. His work with radiographs include pioneering a new
radiological technique for studying teeth and using radiographs to
analyze endodontically-treated teeth. His 1904 paralleling and
bisecting angle techniques would not become popular until the work of
Dr. Gordon Fitzgerald of the University of California in the late
1940s. The practice of using radiographs began a new era in dentistry,
as dentists could finally see evidence of past dental treatments.
Endodontics and focal infection
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Price spent 25 years of his career performing research on pulpless and
endodontically-treated teeth, which supported the theory of focal
infection, which held that systemic conditions, including complexion,
intestinal disorders, and anemia could be explained by infections in
the mouth. This theory held that infected teeth should be treated by
dental extraction rather than root canals, to limit the risk of more
general illness. His research, based on case reports and animal
studies performed on rabbits, claimed to show dramatic improvements
after the extraction of teeth with non-vital pulps. Price's research
fit into a wider body of testimonials in the dental literature of the
1920s, which contributed to the widespread acceptance of the practice
of extracting, rather than endodontically treating, infected teeth.
Despite contentions in a 1927 review of Price's work of "faulty
bacterial technique" in Price's 1925 publication 'Dental Infections
and related Degenerative Diseases', Price's publication 'Dental
Infections, Oral and Systemic' was used as a reference in textbooks
and diagnosis guides published in the mid-1930s.
By the 1930s, the theory of focal infection began to be reexamined,
and new research shed doubt on the results of previous studies. A
1935 'Journal of the Canadian Dental Association' article called Price
radical, while citing his comment in 'Dental Infections, Oral and
Systemic' of "continually seeing patients suffering more from the
inconvenience and difficulties of mastication and nourishment than
they did from the lesions from which their physician or dentist had
sought to give them relief" as a good reason for the use of tooth
extraction to be minimized. One researcher in 1940 noted "practically
every investigation dealing with the pulpless teeth made prior to 1936
is invalid in the light of recent studies" and that the research of
Price and others suffered from technical limitations and questionable
interpretations of results.
Three years after Price died in Santa Monica, California, a special
review issue of the 'Journal of the American Dental Association'
confirmed the shift of standard of care from extraction back to
endodontical dentistry. Compared to modern research, Price's studies
lacked proper control groups, used excessive doses of bacteria, and
had bacterial contamination during teeth extraction, leading to
experimental biases.
Nutrition
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Beginning in 1894, Price started to consider diet as the primary
factor causing tooth decay. In 1925, he was attracted to calcium
metabolism when he became an active student of nutrition. In the
early 1930s, Price's research suggested vitamin B and mineral salts
were important dietary components to prevent caries.
In 1939, Price published 'Nutrition and Physical Degeneration', a book
that details a series of ethnographic nutritional studies he performed
across diverse cultures, including the Lötschental in Switzerland,
Native Americans, Polynesians, Pygmies, and Aborigines, among many
others. The research materials include some 15,000 photographs, 4,000
slides, and many filmstrips.
In the book, Price claimed that various diseases endemic to Western
cultures of the 1920s and 1930s - from dental caries to tuberculosis -
were rarely present in non-Western cultures. He argued that as
non-Western groups abandoned indigenous diets and adopted Western
patterns of living, they showed increases in typical Western diseases.
He concluded that Western methods of commercially preparing and
storing foods stripped away vitamins and minerals necessary to prevent
these diseases.
The 1939 foreword to the book, written by physical anthropologist
Earnest A. Hooton, lauded Price's work for confirming previous
research that dental caries were less prevalent in "savages" and
attempting to establish the etiology for this difference. In 1940, a
review in the 'Canadian Medical Association Journal' called the book
"a masterpiece of research", comparing Price's impact on nutrition to
that of Ivan Pavlov in digestion. In 1950, a review in the journal
'The Laryngoscope' said that "Dr. Price might well be called "The
Charles Darwin of Nutrition" while describing Price's documentation of
his global travel and research in a book. Other reviews were less
sympathetic, with the 'Scientific Monthly' noting some of his
conclusions went "much farther than the observations warrant,"
criticizing Price's controversial conclusions about morality as "not
justified by the evidence presented", and downplaying the significance
of his dietary findings. Likewise, a review in the 'Journal of the
American Medical Association' disagreed with the significance of this
nutritional research, noting Price was "observant but not wholly
unbiased", and that his approach was "evangelistic rather than
scientific."
A 1981 editorial by William T. Jarvis published in 'Nutrition Today'
was more critical, identifying Price's work as a classic example of
the "myth of the healthy savage," which holds that individuals who
live in more technologically primitive conditions lead healthier lives
than those who live in more modern societies. The review noted that
Price's work was limited by a lack of quantitative analysis of the
nutrition of the diets studied, and said he overlooked alternative
explanations for his observations, such as malnutrition in primitive
societies and overindulgence in the Western diet, rather than the diet
itself, as a cause for poorer health. The review makes the assertion
that Price had a preconceived positive notion about the health of
primitive people, which led to data of questionable value and
conclusions that ignored important problems known to afflict their
societies, such as periodontal disease.
Legacy
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In 1994, George E. Meinig published 'Root Canal Cover-up Exposed',
which resurrected the outdated studies of Rosenow and Price. Concerns
were raised that patients hearing about these studies might view them
as new and reliable. A book review in the 'Annals of Dentistry'
critical of Meinig's book noted Meinig based his ideas entirely on
Price's 1923 'Dental Infections, Oral and Systemic', and that Meinig's
book suffers from a lack of professional editing, makes
unsubstantiated claims, confuses basic terms (such as infection and
inflammation), and expands into areas unrelated to the main topic. The
review states that Price's work has been well discussed and has not
been covered up, and notes that although Price's theories were later
supplanted by subsequent research that found endodontic treatment is
safe and effective, his focus on the biology of teeth and infection is
still relevant in modern dentistry, as some clinicians have placed
more emphasis on technology and poorly tested procedures for the
treatment of infected teeth.
Price is credited with much of the development of holistic dentistry.
The Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (PPNF), a non-profit
organization established in 1952, with a membership of 28 dentists as
of 2008, maintains an archive of Price's manuscripts and photographs
and espouses principles of holistic medicine. The Weston A. Price
Foundation was co-founded in 1999 by Sally Fallon and nutritionist
Mary G. Enig to disseminate his research.
Controversy
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Stephen Barrett, writing on the Quackwatch website, dismissed holistic
dentistry and much of Price's research, writing "Price made a
whirlwind tour of primitive areas, examined the natives superficially,
and jumped to simplistic conclusions. While extolling their health, he
ignored their short life expectancy and high rates of infant
mortality, endemic diseases, and malnutrition. While praising their
diets for not producing cavities, he ignored the fact that
malnourished people don't usually get many cavities." Barrett
asserted that dental problems experienced by native peoples resulted
from "abuse" of sweet, fatty, and salty food; exposure to new germs;
inactivity; and alcoholism, and described Price's studies on bacterial
leakage from root canals as "poorly designed". The Foundation has
written a rebuttal to Barrett's claims. William T. Jarvis' article
"The Myth of the Healthy Savage" states that his work on primitive
diets is still widely sourced by dentists who emphasize nutrition, but
argues that it had shortcomings that Price overlooked due to a
steadfast ideologically motivated adherence to the notion that the
modern diet led to physical degeneration.
Selected works
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In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Weston A.
Price, OCLC/WorldCat encompasses roughly 10+ works in 50+ publications
in 4 languages and 1,000+ library holdings.
* 'Dental Infections, Oral and Systemic' (1923) Penton publishing
company; Cleveland, OH
* 'Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: A Comparison of Primitive and
Modern Diets and Their Effects' (1939) Paul B. Hoeber, Inc; Medical
Book Department of Harper & Brothers
*1925. "Dental Infections and related Degenerative Diseases" 'J Am Med
Assoc' 1925;84(4):254-261.
See also
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*Thomas L. Cleave
*Robert Corruccini
*Albert Howard
*Robert McCarrison
*Michael Pollan
Sources
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*
* Price, Weston A. 'Dental Infections, Oral and Systemic & the
Degenerative Diseases, Vol. 1 & 2' (1923).
License
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Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_A._Price
