On Oct. 12, 1925 a famous debate was held between Dr Price and Dr Buckley before the Odontographic Society of Chicago. Over 1,500 dentists attended this meeting! It is a remarkable testament to a great scientist’s humanity. Dr Buckley was a past president of the American Dental Association. Sadly, I do not have a copy and have not seen one, outlining Dr Buckley’s side of the debate, except for the small bits written below. Both he and Johnson (editor of the Journal of the American Dental Association) used the debate as a means of discrediting Price’s research. By the way, this is the same Dr Buckley who introduced a mixture of formaldehyde, cresol and glycerine as a material with which to ‘mummify’ the pulps of baby teeth. It was called Buckley’s Foromocresol which is still used worldwide to this day by specialist endodontists. Formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen [i] associated with nasal sinus cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer[ii]and leukaemia, particularly myeloid leukaemia. [iii],[iv] I have personally seen a number of children whose leukaemia disappeared soon after the removal of teeth that had been ‘treated’ with Buckley’s Formocresol. Clearly Buckley was very concerned with keeping dead teeth in the head rather than maintaining the health of his patients.
[i] IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans (2006).
[ii] “Formaldehyde and Cancer Risk”. National Cancer Institute. 2011-06-10. Archived from the original on 2019-01-23.
[iii] Zhang, Luoping; Steinmaus, Craig; Eastmond, Eastmond; Xin, Xin; Smith, Smith (March–June 2009). “Formaldehyde exposure and leukemia: A new meta-analysis and potential mechanisms”(PDF). Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research. 681 (2–3): 150–168.
[iv] Zhang, Luoping; Freeman, Laura E. Beane; Nakamura, Jun; Hecht, Stephen S.; Vandenberg, John J.; Smith, Martyn T.; Sonawane, Babasaheb R. (2010). “Formaldehyde and Leukemia: Epidemiology, Potential Mechanisms, and Implications for Risk Assessment”. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis. 51 (3): 181–191
Dr. Price (Opening)
“In accepting Dr. Buckley’s challenge to meet him in debate on the question-“Resolved, that practically all infected pulpless teeth should be removed, I have been controlled by a sense of responsibility to humanity, for I believe with all my heart that humanity needs rescuing, not from a willful aggressor but from an incorrect interpretation, which has furnished wrong fundamentals for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.
I shall probably surprise my opponent and perhaps shock some of my audience when I confess that I hope he will win this debate by furnishing what I have not been able to find: namely, a means for sterilizing and for maintaining sterility of the infected pulpless tooth. I have searched diligently for the same for more than thirty years.”
In his conclusion;
“If, now, we summarize these various presented data, we find that:
People are not living nearly to the entire span of life, which they have a right to expect:
Death is occurring even in our most civilized communities largely from the degenerative diseases, chief of which is heart disease. Even the mortality statistics of our various communities will at this time give an indication of the level and thought of dental practice with regard to the management of infected pulpless teeth.
It is practically, if not entirely, a physical impossibility to sterilize infected cementum by treating through the dentin. It is like trying to sterilize infection in the label on the bottle by putting disinfectants in the bottle.
Root fillings do not continue to fill root canals. The amount of space that ultimately develops is approximately the amount of solvent that was used with the root-filling material, assuming that mechanical filling of every area was possible.
Individuals are not comparable in their defence against degenerative diseases. Some are susceptible and must have an entirely different preventive program.
The degenerative diseases are largely symptoms of degenerative processes in the blood stream, an important contributing cause for which is long- continued, usually unsuspected, chronic infection.
The extremely inadequate time and space for this statement prevents the inclusion of similar important evidence, demonstrating that: The roentgen rays cannot reveal all the required information, and under old standards will often be misleading.
The complement fixation method for dental infections can be related to systemic sensitization. Chronic dental infections reduce the normal bactericidins of the blood. Leukocyte activity is depressed by chronic dental infections.
Chronic dental infections can produce antigens, to which the sensitized patient may respond with an allergy of severe and very obscure type.
Dental infections can be demonstrated to have had specific localizing ability for many of the organs and tissues of the body. I have already reported on most of these in my papers and books.
We cannot, therefore, continue in the light of these new truths to give any quarter to the infected pulpless tooth until we can both accomplish its disinfection and insure its continued sterility. Until then, it must be eliminated. By the elimination of dental focal infections, we will eliminate one of the important contributing factors to the shortening of life and loss of health, for it is chiefly the destructive influences of these infection products that have to do with the destroying of the defensive mechanisms of the blood stream and the producing of abnormal levels, chiefly of calcium, which thereby predispose to sensitization reactions, cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes and the anemias, on the one hand, and to the rheumatic group of degenerative diseases on the other, two groups which together constitute the great majority of deaths in the various communities.”
“A new truth is a new sense, for, with it, we can see things that we could not see before and things that cannot be seen by those who do not have that new truth;”
“In closing, I want you to see with me a little incident that happened in a town in Illinois, a year ago last Christmas. Prior to that time, there had been appearing, in a window, a little hand that seemed to wave to each passing train as if in distress. At night a flickering match took its place, and it was waved frantically as a signal for help.
This got on the nerves and hearts of the trainmen as they passed by; and as they exchanged reports, they decided that there must be someone there in distress. Accordingly, a committee was appointed to go and investigate; and it was found that a little bedridden child lay crippled where she could not see out of the window but where she could reach her hand in front of the window.
On Christmas morning, two trans-continental express trains stopped on the main line in front of this little home, and from them committees of trainmen proceeded to the little home to carry comforts and money to help this afflicted little sister of humanity.
I do not know what she was suffering from, but I do believe that there are many such sufferers who have been important, if not a controlling, contributing factor in dental infection. I am going to ask that every time you place a root-filling in an infected tooth, you shall see that waving hand in the window.”
Dr Buckley was just prior to this debate the President of the American Dental Association. He was also the person who pushed his infamous Buckley’s Formocresol Root treating poison onto the world. A small taste of Dr Buckleys comments below.
Below is a small sample of Dr Buckley’s remarks;
“…if it becomes necessary for me to speak plainly and to the point in presenting my side of the question, I want the audience to know in advance that there is nothing personal intended.”
“…the radical stand many men are taking today with reference to the ruthless extraction or so-called surgical removal of pulpless teeth,…”
“…to assume the responsibility for the radical extraction of pulpless teeth” “…he travels too rapidly or does not stay in one place long enough for those of us who are a little sluggish to get our perspective or bearings.”
“…he gives us absolutely no hope of saving a pulpless tooth under any condition. My God, men! Whither are we drifting? There is such a thing as carrying science, so called, far beyond the realm of ridiculous, and plainly toward the limits of criminality.”
“…does he report only such as would seem to justify his preconceived ideas? And … does this not prove that as a scientific investigator his is either incompetent or unreliable or both? Certainly it must be suspected that he lacks the tireless and irresistible courage of complete sincerity and sanity.” Buckley concludes his barrage with;
“God giving me the strength, I will spend the remainder of my life, if need be, correcting this damnable and criminal practice for which you sir, Dr. Price, whether you realise it or not, are in large measure responsible.”