Diseased teeth place a load on the body’s cybernetic information and regulatory systems and can block these systems. We are interested not only in apical foci of infection, but also in teeth that are devitalized, displaced, etc. An asymptomatic denervated tooth can also become an interference field even in the absence of a visible granuloma. The protein in the dentin disintegrates after devitalization. Its breakdown products, such as mercaptan, can act as chronic irritants to the basic autonomic system (Pischinger) and become a source of erroneous information and regulatory dysfunction. The dentin canals contain all the elements of the basic autonomic system such as terminal nerve fibers, capillaries, and lymph vessels. All inflammations occur in this basic tissue, and it is here that interference fields are generated. The devitalized tooth is not isolated; it is linked to the rest of the body via the dentin canals, and in this sense it is not dead from a biological standpoint. A source of false information, this permanent irritation can act specifically on inherited or acquired weak points and allow disease to occur there.

Every physician and dentist should be familiar with these modern scientific fundamentals of matrix research (Heine). However, the literature about the effects of interference fields in the teeth and jaws often fails to give sufficient consideration to these new findings.

We know that the active interference fields in the teeth can render all attempts at treatment ineffective. Productive cooperation between physician and dentist would expand our diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities and successes. We are opposed to removal of teeth as a matter of course. However, we also feel that the attempt to save teeth at any cost often forces patients to pay that price with their health.

Tooth 24, the premolar in the left upper jaw, exhibits a sharply demarcated radiolucent area. Bone destruction around the tip of the root due to chronic inflammation appears as increased radiolucency at this site. Tooth 24 has an amalgam filling over the occlusal and distal surfaces. Irritation of the pulp due to a deep defect in the crown has led to devitalization. Chronic bacterial infiltration into the pulp has produced the clinical picture of chronic apical periodontitis (granuloma). Inspection of the tooth reveals gray discoloration in addition to the large amalgam filling. The vitality test is negative.

Tooth 14, the first premolar in the right upper jaw, exhibits widening of the periodontal space in the apical third of both roots (the first premolar usually has a buccal and a palatine root). This is a sign of inflammation that may be interpreted as a sequela of inflammatory irritation of the pulp. Inflammation of the periodontal ligament beyond the apex occurs with typical pain associated with axial motion of the tooth. The extremely large amalgam filling is indicative of a very deep previous carious defect.

Bacterial irritation of the pulp results in the spread of inflammation beyond the apex into the surrounding apical portion of the periodontal ligament. The patient often experiences this as a sensation of an extended or raised tooth with painful early contact during occlusion. In diagnosing the disorder, one should note that the tooth may still be vital or already be devitalized, but it will usually be painful when tapped.

Tooth 35, the second premolar in the left lower jaw, is a tooth that has undergone previous root canal treatment. After removal of the pulp, the pulp cavity was filled. The radiopaque filling material projects a few millimeters past the apex and has caused inflammation in the jaw around the tip of the root. Visible in the image as a radiolucency, this inflammatory process has spread inferiorly to the cancellous bone around the apex of the root and into the apical portion of the periodontal ligament. Here, the periodontal space in the apical third of the root appears widened. The body has responded to the slow spread of inflammation with reactive sclerosis of the cancellous bone around the inflamed area. Clinical symptoms may include tenderness to palpation in the apical region or pain upon application of axial loads.

Tooth 36, the first molar in the left lower jaw, exhibits partial filling of the distal root canal with a few millimeters of radiopaque material. The mesial root has a radiopaque filling with a continuous radiodense metal shadow extending 3 mm beyond the tip of the root. This is due to the root file used to ream the canal. The inferior margin of the apical radiolucency is defined by root filling material that was pressed beyond the canal. The tooth is clinically asymptomatic without any pathological findings. However, acute exacerbation may occur at any time as a result of pathogens spreading to the cancellous bone via the apical foramen and the highly infectious reaming instrument left in situ.