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CHAPTER SIXTEEN
DISEASES OF DIGESTION The system of the body dealing with digestion of foods includes all of the related structures in the mouth, such as the teeth, salivary glands, and taste buds. It extends down through the esophagus, the stomach, the small and large intestines, and includes three accessory but equally essential organs, the pancreas, the liver, and the gallbladder. A great many infectious, degenerative, and malignant disorders can develop in these highly specialized, yet diversified organs. Congenital problems involving the intestinal tract or trauma may affect the digestive system. The more common problems, however, are related to our lifestyle, particularly the diet. In some people, the digestive system constitutes the target organ for stress, reacting to built-up tension with pain, vomiting, or diarrhea. Most of the proprietary medications available at any pharmacy are marketed for disorders of digestion, including antacids, laxatives, and dental aids. I plan to look at some of the problems that afflict this most interesting body system, in a way that can be both preventive and therapeutic. Dental Caries The teeth are valuable for nutrition as well as appearance, normally absent only in newborn babies. Heralding the interest and need for solid foods, tooth eruption begins at five to six months of age. This continues until the “baby teeth” or decidual set, with a complement of twenty, are all in place. Five or six years later the incisors begin to loosen and are gradually replaced over the next six years with the permanent set of teeth. A complete dental set in the adult would have thirty—two teeth, paired “uppers and