Woman shows off ability to kill “tooth worm” TUOITRENEWS Tran Thi Dom (L) is trying to treat decayed tooth for a boy with cooking oil and a traditional Chinese herb Tuoi Tre Dom says that several "tooth worms" have been captured and killed in the bottle Tuoi Tre A woman in Cai Lay District, in southern Tien Giang province, is offering treatment for a decayed tooth that uses cooking oil and an unidentified substance. In fact, it is a trick of a quack.    The woman is Tran Thi Dom, who has set up a “consulting room” in the kitchen in her house in the district’s Tan Hoi Commune to treat decayed teeth by “capturing and killing tooth worms using a therapy that has been handed down from generation to generation.” Tuoi Tre reporters witnessed several examples of “treatment” performed by the woman. In one instance, Dom heated cooking oil in a terracotta bowl placed on an oven while a boy sat waiting for “tooth worms” to be captured and killed. After the oil boiled, Dom placed a plastic bottle, the bottom of which had been cut off, on the edge of the bowl. She then put a bag containing a black substance that she said was a traditional Chinese herb into the bottle. When the oil was put into the bottle white smoke filled the room, and the woman put a funnel into the opening of the bottle. She then asked the boy to place the funnel in his mouth and breath the smoke. “Open your mouth, breath in and swallow all the smoke!” the woman told the boy. A minute later, several white threads suddenly appeared inside the bottle. The woman then told the boy and his mother that they were “tooth worms” that had been removed from the boy’s decayed teeth and killed. She said about 10 worms had been killed. She then asked the boy’s mother to pay her VND10,000 (US$0.48) for the cost of the cooking oil used in the “therapy”. Deceitful, posing health risks Tuoi Tre reporters asked Dom for samples of what she called “traditional Chinese herbs”, which look like half a grain of pepper with white threads inside – these threads are similar to those that Dom said were “worms” she had removed from the decayed teeth of her clients. The reporters showed the “herb” to many reliable Chinese herb shops, and none of the owners knew what it was. Dr. Le Phong Vu, head of the Odonto-Maxillo-Facial Department of the Tien Giang General Hospital, said that tooth decay is a process that results in a cavity (dental caries). It occurs when bacteria in your mouth create acid that eats away at a tooth. If not treated, tooth decay can cause pain, infection, and tooth loss.  However, such bacteria can only be seen with a microscope. Therefore, it is deceitful for Dom to say she can capture “tooth worms” that can be seen with the naked eye, Vu said.   Dr. Phan Van Hong, director of the Tien Giang Traditional Medicine Hospital, also said there is no traditional therapy that can be used to “catch tooth worms”.  Dom said she cannot remember how many people she has treated, but every patient has used the same funnel to breath smoke into their mouths. As a result tooth and mouth-related diseases could be transmitted between people who have received this treatment, Dr. Hong said. “Authorities do not know”     Nguyen Ngoc Hoi, chairman of the Tan Hoi Commune People’s Committee, told Tuoi Tre that the authorities do not know about Dom’s practice of treating decayed teeth. “I will send officials to inspect the woman’s house and will handle her violations,” Hoi said. Meanwhile, Dr Hong proposed that the local government coordinate with concerned agencies to inspect the woman’s practice since her methods of “treatment” can cause the transmission of diseases related to teeth and mouth. In addition, Hong said, the use of a substance of unknown origin in treatment could also put patients at risk.