Dr. Chuck Reinertsen's 40 years of clinical experience reveals the deadly connection between your teeth and your heart, brain, and entire body. All book profits fund the nonprofit mission.
The Hidden Crisis
You would know if you had a fever. You would feel a broken leg. But the infection that may be entering your bloodstream right now? It gives you no warning at all.
Heart attacks triggered by preventable dental infections claim this many American lives every year. These are not freak accidents. They are the predictable outcome of a gap between medicine and dentistry that has persisted for over a century.
During a complete physical exam, your physician checks your eyes, ears, heart, and lungs. The most bacteria-rich part of your entire body? Completely skipped. Not because physicians are careless. Because medical and dental training have been separate for over 100 years.
In veterinary medicine, the mouth is treated as part of whole-body health, so a dog's mouth is checked at every routine exam. In human care, medicine and dentistry are often kept separate, so a similar oral check usually isn't part of a standard physical. Recognizing that gap is the first step to closing it for yourself and your family.
Inside the Book
Each chapter answers a question most Americans have never thought to ask, and the answers change how you think about your health forever.
Three patients. One hidden cause. Their physicians missed it for years. This chapter introduces the cases that started Dr. Chuck Reinertsen's 40-year investigation into the mouth-body connection.
Why does your physician skip the most infected part of your body during a physical exam? The answer involves over a century of institutional separation that nobody ever fixed.
Over 700 strains of bacteria live in the human mouth. Some of them are entering your bloodstream right now, whether you feel anything or not. Here is what that actually means for your heart, brain, and kidneys.
Sugar does not cause cavities. The real cause is more pervasive, more preventable, and far more connected to your overall health than anyone ever explained to you.
For roughly $25 in supplies, you can begin protecting yourself today. No prescription required. No dentist appointment necessary. Just 8 minutes a day and the knowledge to do it correctly.
Not every dentist thinks about your whole body. This chapter is your shopping guide for identifying the kind of dental provider who asks the right questions and looks for the right problems.
Real Patients, Real Outcomes
These are composite patient profiles drawn from Dr. Chuck Reinertsen's 40 years of clinical experience. Details have been altered to protect privacy.
Alice had been on dialysis for years when her bleeding at her dialysis appointments became difficult to control, her medications quit working, and she had no energy left to make art. The cause was severe, silent, painless gum disease in her mouth. We treated it with antibiotics and removed the infected teeth.
Debbie had been through two rounds of antibiotics for a recurring thigh abscess that would not stay away. The third time it returned, her physicians finally tested the bacteria and discovered it was coming from her mouth. Her exam revealed three painless tooth abscesses. We treated them with antibiotics and carefully removed the infected teeth.
Melissa visited her physician for a routine exam years ago. Her blood pressure was high, so they put her on blood pressure medication. During her initial dental examination, we uncovered a severely infected lower left second molar, with bone loss so severe we could not save the tooth. We treated it with antibiotics and then carefully removed it. She returned for follow-up dental care and gave us this update.
Time Is a Factor
For less than the cost of a pizza, you could start protecting yourself today. The knowledge in this book took 40 years to accumulate. It takes about 4 hours to read.
All profits fund dental health education through our 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
About the Author
What Readers Are Saying
Verified reader reviews from Amazon.
Best $15 I've spent on my health, hands down. Dr. Reinertsen opens with three patient stories that stopped me cold, and learning that 90% of dental infections have zero pain changed how I see everything. The daily routine is simple, and his dentist-selection guide saved me from an unnecessary crown.
I bought this after my sister had a heart scare at 45. I had no idea 90% of dental infections are painless. After my dad finally had three hidden abscessed teeth treated, his blood sugar stabilized for the first time in years. The best health investment you'll make all year.
Such an easy to read, thought provoking book. Your teeth have roots and a blood supply that travel all through your body, so an untreated infection can absolutely travel elsewhere. Thank you for putting out common sense info we never take the time to think about.
The Investment
The 8-minute daily routine Dr. Chuck describes in Chapter 5 requires five items you can find at any pharmacy. The total cost is roughly $25. You probably already own some of them.
That is the average hospital bill for a single heart attack in the United States. Some of those heart attacks are triggered by the same oral infections your $25 kit is designed to prevent. Your daily routine is not a guarantee. But it is a choice to give your body its best possible chance.
The 8-minute routine takes the same amount of time as a commercial break. Two minutes per arch, each method. Soft toothbrush along the gum line. Interproximal brushes to reach the spaces between teeth. Directed water irrigation to flush deeper pockets. Floss to catch what the other methods miss. Disclosing tablets to verify you covered every surface. Then go to bed knowing you did your part.
Common Questions
Yes, and this is the core premise of the entire book. Ninety percent of dental infections produce no pain, no swelling, and no obvious symptoms. Just as high blood pressure, diabetes, glaucoma, and the early stages of cancer all progress silently, a chronic dental infection can release bacteria into your bloodstream daily for months or years before any visible sign appears. The book explains exactly how this happens and what you can do about it.
The book includes 17 peer-reviewed academic citations from institutions including Harvard Medical School, the National Institutes of Health, the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, the American Heart Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The science connecting oral health to systemic health is not fringe or emerging. It is well-documented. The gap is in how that science reaches patients.
This is not a failure of individual physicians. Medical and dental education have been conducted separately for over a century. Most physicians receive no training in oral health assessment. Most dentists receive no training in cardiovascular or metabolic health. The gap is institutional, not personal. The book frames this with empathy, not accusation, and gives you specific language to help your care team work together across that gap.
Most books on dental health focus on what to do in the dental chair. This book focuses on what is happening in your body every day between appointments, and why your medical providers have never been trained to think about it. It is written for a health-conscious adult who is not a medical professional. It uses concrete patient stories, clear explanations of the underlying science, and actionable protocols you can start implementing today, before you ever see a dentist.
This book is for any adult who wants to understand what their medical team may be missing. It is especially relevant if you or someone you love is managing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, or is pregnant. It is also for people who are simply curious about why their gums bleed, why their breath changes, or why their dental bills seem to keep growing despite regular cleanings. If you have a mouth and a body, this book applies to you.
Every dollar of profit from book sales funds The Dental Medical Convergence, Inc., a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit organization. The mission of the nonprofit is to close the education gap between medicine and dentistry through patient education, provider outreach, and public awareness programs. When you buy this book, you are not paying for a royalty. You are funding a mission.
Yes. Chapter 5 walks through the complete 8-minute daily routine you can begin today for approximately $25 in over-the-counter supplies. You clean your teeth 365 days a year. Your dentist sees you twice. The math is clear: most of your oral health is determined by what you do at home. The book gives you the protocol, the reasoning behind each step, and the knowledge to do it correctly and verify that it is working.
Yes. The book is available in both print and digital formats through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you prefer to start reading immediately, the Kindle and Nook editions are available for instant download. The print edition also makes an excellent gift for a parent, spouse, or anyone in your life who is managing a chronic health condition that may have an unexamined oral component.
Your Move
Who is going to tell your mom and dad? Your children? Your brothers and sisters? This book gives you the knowledge to help protect the people you love most. They will not read it if you do not put it in their hands.
Every copy sold funds dental health education through The Dental Medical Convergence, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
