“There was an old study of how many police officers got gangrene from punching hitting the teeth of a suspect, as far as I can remember it was 30% who had this very serious infection from hitting teeth that were not clean.”

Yes, I heard this decades ago. In my 26 years in policing, all the arrests, contacts, police seminars, newsletters, continued training-teaching and my compulsion to study the big picture, etc. during and since, I have not heard a single teeth-gangrene case, only the rarest of casual mentions of this problem in some quarters.

Broken bones in hands? Yes – from punching the “bicycle helmet area of the moving head.” But, this 30% gangrene tall tale still pops up, usually from the occasional martial arts guys who wish they, you and others only palm strike, never punch. I don’t care if you punch or palm strike. I teach both options and you decide on several factors what you choose, which is a whole other essay. Since this cop-gangrene topic has popped up now and again on the interwebs, let’s take a deeper dive into this punching-gangrene thing.

We’ll start with police stats. Big-picture police reporting is horribly flawed. The annual FBI crime reports are always flawed. Collection problems. Everyone inside the business knows this. They can’t even tell us accurately how many murders there are, least of all punching-gangrene cases, or to research-compare police punching with-and-without infections. Gangrene or any infections have never and will never be collected in one central stat house. Impossible. Small department studies? Maybe. So, if, like in Mayberry RFD, if Officer Barney Fife punched someone and got gangrene, the Mayberry Gazette could report “statistics show that 100% of all officers that punch, get gangrene.”

(This bloated message is also true of the old BJJ line that “90% of all police fights end up on the ground.” Fabricated, marketing horse manure. There is no check-off-box on a police report that reads “ground fight.” No process to collect that data in a centralized house or anywhere. Many police fights end up against the walls and cars, and an array of life’s locations, up and down, down and up. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t study ground fighting. It means how shallow and susceptible are you to fads and marketing?)

Google’s “Professor AI” reports: There’s no widely known or established police study indicating that 30% of officers who punch someone in the head develop gangrene. While hand injuries can sometimes lead to serious complications like infection or perhaps even gangrene, the claim of a 30% incidence in officers is not supported by medical or policing research. The severity and likelihood of such complications depend on factors like the type and severity of the injury, promptness of medical treatment, and the individual’s overall health.” 

Quick Dive into Gangrene. Medical pages agree that “Gangrene happens when blood supply to certain tissues is stopped. This can happen due to: An infection. An injury, such as a burn, infected dog bite, or combat wound. To avoid gangrene, focus on managing underlying health conditions, protecting your feet, and treating wounds promptly. Specifically, if you have diabetes, manage blood sugar levels, and if you have vascular issues, follow your doctor’s advice. Regular foot checks, good hygiene, and proper wound care are also crucial.” 

Your mouth is worse than your ass. So, we hear, “fists cut teeth, and the human mouth is dirtier than an anus hole.” Okay. Mouths are very dirty. Poor dentists and their helpers, huh? Speaking of dentists, all dental pages say, “A typical human mouth contains billions of bacteria. Most of the bacteria in your mouth are part of a sticky film on your teeth known as plaque, which is the main cause of tooth decay. A single tooth can host 500 million bacteria! (Seems teeth will never really be clean, huh?) More than 600 types of bacteria thrive in your oral cavity. A study published in the journal Microbiome found that one kiss on the lips can transfer 80 million germs! Your mouth encounters more germs than the rectal area!”

Dity mouths encounter dirty mouths a lot! “Still, with some assumptions about population size throughout human history, we can get a rough idea of this number:  About 117 billion members of our species have ever been born on Earth.” – Population reference Bureau

“Thoroughly revised estimates show that the typical adult human body consists of about 30 trillion human cells and about 38 trillion bacteria.” – National Institute of Health.

A lot of dirty people. 117 billion people. 38 trillion bacteria per person! 500 million bacteria in the mouth. A whole lot of filthy, nasty kissing-connecting going on. I ask you, how are we still alive!!!! Billions of humans, since the dawn of humanity have kissed while intercourse and then there’s pregnancy? Humans live! Reproduce! Swap DNA. How? Walking bags of death! So much…dirt! Still we survive with mouths worse than our butts!

Try viewing the gangerous dirty mouth, “cut from teeth” syndrome and add in unproven gangrene numbers as well as other infectious diseases, through the big picture spyglass.

Hey, again, I don’t care if you punch or palm strike. I teach both options and you decide, which is a whole other essay. And you can still get a cut from teeth with a palm strike too. How many police people punch and get gangrene or something else? How many non-police people punch mouths, and get/don’t get gangrene or something else? No one will ever know for sure, either. My best guess is not many.

But, if you get a tooth-cut from a punching a guy in the mouth? WASH IT OUT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. Disinfect it. Everybody tells you that. Usually works. Next step is anti-biotics. Usually works. Treat, watch, and move on down whatever crazy road you are on.

Get Hock’s new book, click here: