Why Does a Remote Japanese Village Have Perfect Teeth Despite Smoking, Eating Sugar, and Never Seeing a Dentist?

When dental biochemist Dr. Andrew Blake traveled to Akagawa, Japan to investigate reports of elderly residents with "teeth as strong as 20-year-olds," he was skeptical. But what he discovered in this remote village has implications that may change how we understand oral health.

Could microscopic organisms in our saliva—what researchers are now calling "dental termites"—be behind the epidemic of bleeding gums, even in people who brush multiple times daily? And might common toothpaste ingredients actually be feeding these organisms instead of eliminating them?

In this presentation, Dr. Blake shares findings from Harvard, MIT, and Okinawa University research, explains why his own mother's gums stopped bleeding after years of failed treatments, and demonstrates the traditional "candy water flush" method used by Akagawa villagers for generations.