TRUE HEALTH
By GEORGE NAVA TRUE II

A close look at psychic dentistry
(First of two parts)

In the field of dentistry, no other subject raises as much skepticism as the spiritistas - faith healers who claim they can pull out teeth with their bare hands without the benefit of anesthesia.

Testimonials about these “wonder workers” abound. In the United States, psychic dentist Willard Fuller has supposedly healed more than 40,000 people since he began practicing in 1960. Those who flock to his healing ministry claim his magic touch can fill cavities, make bad teeth whole again, and even produce a new set of teeth in some elderly patients.

“Fuller’s method is a simple one. He gently strikes the cheeks of those in need and says, ‘In the name of Jesus, be thou whole.’ Witnesses who claim to have peered into a mouth to watch the formation of a filling describe it as a small bright spot that expands to fill the whole cavity. One 66-year-old woman, who originally hoped only for a better fit for her dentures, said that within three weeks of Fuller’s healing she had cut a new set of 32 mature, fully formed teeth,” according to the editors of Time-Life Books in “Powers of Healing.”

Many dental faith healers also practice in the Philippines. Dr. Walfrido Cruz, former speaker of the Philippine Dental Association’s (PDA) House of Delegates (HOD) who has observed many healers in Tarlac, said these quacks get the publicity they need by making house calls.

“Illegal practitioners visit several homes in various barangays offering their services. Sometimes they go with barangay officials who promote these quacks. One fake healer whom we arrested in Paniqui displayed all the teeth he got at the public market,” Cruz said.

Not interested
In Cebu, psychic surgeon Emilio Laporga claims he has extracted a lot of teeth from different patients during his healing sessions. One psychic researcher and author of several books on the occult said Laporga pulled out his wisdom tooth without any pain at all. He even advised local dentists to learn Laporga’s technique.

But none of the PDA members appear to be interested and for a very good reason. Psychic dentistry has never been demonstrated under controlled laboratory conditions and most practitioners are simply sleight-of-hand artists who can’t produce a shred of proof of their alleged powers.

Other quacks
Self-styled psychics, however, are not the only persons the PDA is concerned about. The caretaker of the nation’s dental health that has over a hundred chapters and affiliates is also worried about other illegal practitioners as well. These include artisans, dental technicians, undergraduates, those who have flunked the board exams, and those whose licenses have been suspended or revoked yet still practice dentistry to this day.

A dentist, according to the Philippine Dental Act of 2007 (RA 9484), is any person who “performs any operation or part of an operation upon the human oral cavity, jaws, teeth, and surrounding tissues; prescribes drugs or medicines for the treatment of oral diseases and lesions; or prevents and/or corrects malpositions of the teeth.” Those who do so without the necessary qualifications are quacks are many of them operate in the country.

“We have received complaints about nurses or undergraduates who pull teeth even though that’s not part of their job. Other offenders are dental hygienists who can only clean teeth but sometimes work as dentists. No doubt, the profession is plagued with problems,” revealed Dr. Rodolfo T. Lope, former PDA HOD speaker and former chair of the PDA Legal Affairs Committee. None, however, is more deceptive than psychic dentistry.

A doctor’s observations
One of the earliest to expose this money-making racket was Dr. William A. Nolen, an award-winning Minnesota surgeon who visited the Philippines in 1973 to personally experience psychic surgery.

Unlike other observers who were easily deceived by local healers, Nolen’s training as a physician and his knowledge of anatomy helped him see through the charade these charlatans were putting on.

Among the healers Nolen visited was Placido Palitayan who was later arrested in Oregon in February 1989 for the fraudulent practice of psychic surgery. Nolen submitted to Palitayan’s fake operation when the latter boasted that he had pulled out many teeth in Baguio City.

When Nolen asked him to remove a bad tooth that was giving him a lot of trouble, Palitayan failed to perform his miracle in front of the respected surgeon.

“Placido, facing me, pushed against my cheek, over the tooth, with the index finger of his right hand. Then he put his left index finger into my mouth and pushed that against the tooth, so that he had the tooth squeezed between his index fingers. I could feel him pushing back and forth but the tooth remained solidly fixed in my mandible,” Nolen wrote in “Healing: A Doctor in Search of A Miracle.”

It’s easy to understand why Palitayan failed. Permanent teeth are firmly anchored to bony sockets in the mouth by means of two or three roots which are covered with cementum, a hard bonelike tissue. That makes it impossible for anyone to remove them without the use of forceps. And even with the latter, dentists admit it’s a hard task. (Next: How psychic dentists operate.)

National Press Club and Philippine Dental Association awardee George Nava True II is the author of two bestsellers and the only Filipino member of the National Council Against Health Fraud Inc., one of the largest anti-quackery organizations in the United States. He pioneered “consultative journalism” through his medical advice column that began in 1983. Got a health problem? Get the facts. Write to George at truehealth.panay@yahoo.com or text 0926-4491180.