Dangers of Root Canals
Dangers of Root Canals that Your [Conventional] Dentist “Forgot” to Tell You About
Side effects of root canals have been studied and documented, but are not well known by conventional dentists. Dangers behind root canals include burden and stress to the body, potential low-grade and acute infections, a potential increase in systemic inflammation, and increased risks of adverse health conditions and health problems. Root canals may also exacerbate existing disease processes and health conditions. Root canals are systemically linked to overall health and have been scientifically studied, however, the potential dangers are rarely disclosed by conventional dentists, and root canal alternatives are seldom discussed. Holistic dentists will examine existing root canals and provide alternative to root canal treatment. Knowledge is power, and Natural Dentistry will empower you with knowledge of root canal realities.
Root Canal Procedure Side Effects
Getting to the Root (Canal) of the Issue
Patients who have seen endodontists – those dentists who specialize in root canals – understand that if the one and only tool you have is a hammer, everything is a nail – and thus, with endodontists, everything is solved with a root canal. Endodontists and traditional general dentists will sell you on the wonders of root canals, and this bit of wisdom will encourage patients to RESEARCH root canal procedures, associate risk and importantly, the available alternatives. Intuition is one of our strongest, truest, and most primal internal warnings – and is understandable that over 70% of patients who have been treatment planned for a root canal prefer to avoid them. Patients are right to be wary…but maybe not for the reasons they think.
Root canal therapy is typically recommended when a conventional dentist notices advanced decay extending into the dentin of a tooth. They say this will “save” the tooth, but in reality, it saves only the outer structure. In other words, the ‘banana peel’ of the tooth is preserved, while the ‘banana fruit’ inside is sucked out, and replaced with cement. This is analogous to the tooth structure being the external hard surface and in the pulp inside the root canals of the tooth structure, which is a living organ of real tissue that made the tooth alive and supplied it with nutrients – is removed. The tooth is now dead. The patient has had experienced a “root canal” procedure. The murder of the tooth pulp, the life supply, of the tooth. The hollowed-out pulp chamber is then filled with a putty-like substance and sealed with a restoration.
Danger: Our bodies are not made of solid, impermeable structures or barriers. In other words, bones and tooth structures are not 100% non-permeable materials through which liquid or microbes cannot pass (like steel, silicone or plastic). Our bones and tissue are all semi-permeable, which means, microbes, nutrients, serum, and molecules can pass through our tooth and bone structure at all times. This leads us to the eye-opening realization that Hal Huggin’s has spent his life educating dental practitioners and patients alike on, and which holistic and biological dentists have embraced:
Teeth are NOT SOLID – our bones teeth and all tissues are all semi-permeable:
There is no way to create and permeable seal using the remaining root tooth structure from the inside, or from the outside. It is impossible to seal a tooth with removed pulp, where infection or necrotic tissue once resided. A root canal cannot be “sealed” and the concept that a tooth is a solid structure is simply incorrect.
Impossible to 100% Disinfect the Inside of the Tooth by Removing the Pulp:
There is no way to guarantee 100% of the bacteria/infection or dead tissue has been removed, as inflections can travel through the microtubules of the actual tooth structure and a dentists’ tools, including burrs and liquid disinfectant (think bleach/alcohol/antibiotics, cannot reach all microscopic crevices of the tooth structure and reach all tissue. This means, it is nearly impossible to remove 100% of the necrotic tissue or infection.
Infection Leakage into the rest of the Body:
If you cannot permanently and permeably secure the dead tooth from within with the filler substance and you cannot remove 100% of the anaerobic bacteria, infection or necrosis during the procedure, this means that a portion of the infection remains inside the tooth, cut off from all blood supply and immune system helpers (T-Cells), and the infection continuously leaks out from the tooth into the rest of the body, while festering and growing inside its chamber. Full body inflammation ensues.
Infection Leakage can Lead to Chronic Disease & Inflammation:
Years later, some patients find themselves chronically ill for “unknown reasons.” Hal Huggins has found and published cases of extracting root candled teeth, treating the extraction site of the former root canal with ozone therapy that ultimately resulted in a full return to health for the chronically ill patients.
Alternatives to Root Canals: Holistic Dentistry
- Extraction by a biological dentist who practices oral surgery and replacement with a ceramic metal-free implant; only this type of holistic dentist can properly extract the root canal, debride the surrounding tissue, applies ozone water and ozone gas to disinfect, bone graft with natural PRF – BEST OPTION CLINICALLY AND SYSTEMICALLY
- Extraction by a top holistic dentist with a zirconia dental implant placed as a metal-free implant biocompatible restoration with a biocompatible crown
- Zirconia implants are also known as ceramic implants – they are the optimal material available in USA and Europe for implant options – longevity is long-term (10+ years)
- Dr. May placed zirconia implants during the same surgery as the root canal extraction 90% of the time and 10% of the time due to large infections or bone loss the ceramic implant is placed 3-4 months after the extraction and PRF bone graft is completed and healed
- Extraction by a holistic dentist followed by less clinically ideal but non-surgical restorative options – SECOND BEST OPTION FOR FUNCTION:
- Maryland Bridge – permanent, metal-free and biocompatible – consequence of bone loss and/or sinus dropping for maxillary teeth – longevity is short to medium term (3-5 years)
- Traditional Bridge – permanent, metal-free, and biocompatible – consequence of bone loss and/or sinus dropping for maxillary teeth – longevity is medium to long term (7-12 years)
- Removable prosthetic – removable, metal-free, and biocompatible – consequence of bone loss and/or sinus dropping for maxillary teeth – longevity is short to medium term (3-5 years)
- Extraction by a holistic dentist with no restoration of any sort – LEAST DESIRABLE OPTION DUE TO SIDE EFFECTS
- Chewing parafunction (compromised function)
- Side effects of bone loss
- A consequence of tooth shifting and bite changing and TMJ issues down the road
- Side effects of sinus dropping for maxillary teeth
- Facial changes and facial droop (depending on the location of extracted root canal treated tooth)
Everything You Need to Know About Root Canal Dangers, Root Canal Side Effects In this Video Explained
Watch an up-close video of how root canal therapy is done.
This is just one of the things an endodontist probably won’t tell you.
Hal Huggin’s Video
As former endodontist George Meinig once said,
“We believe now that every root canal filling does leak and bacteria do invade the structure. But the variable factor is the strength of the person’s immune system. Some healthy people are able to control the germs that escape from their teeth into other areas of the body. We think this happens because their immune system lymphocytes (white blood cells) and other disease fighters aren’t constantly compromised by other ailments. In other words, they are able to prevent those new colonies from taking hold in other tissues throughout the body. But over time, most people with root filled teeth do seem to develop some kinds of systemic symptoms they didn’t have before.”
“Turn to cancer expert Dr. Joseph Issels”, and the bad news just keeps on coming:
According to Issels,
“A survey conducted at my clinic found that, on admission, ninety-eight percent of the adult cancer patients had between two and ten dead teeth, each one a dangerous toxin producing ‘factory.’” The clear implication is that no dentist had carefully evaluated those people for dental foci – oral sources of infection that affect other areas of and organs in the body.”
Issels continues:
“Only total, thorough dental treatment (ie tooth extraction) will really succeed in giving the body’s defense a chance. The growth of the tumor itself is very often distinctly slowed down by focus treatment. Now and then tumor development stops altogether, and sometimes even regresses. The head foci, therefore, seem not only to contribute to the development of secondary lesions, to the origin of cancer disease, but also to exert a direct influence on tumor growth by stimulating it. Many tumors seem to respond to immunological therapy only when foci have been removed. The subsequent improvement in the body’s defenses clearly shows itself in the response to immunizing vaccines.”
He later makes a very sobering statement:
“My own unhappy experience shows that with cancer patients, foci treatment has generally been left to a very late stage. In the vast majority of the patients I have treated, it was quite clear that foci treatment should have been carried out years before and certainly long before the manifestation of the tumors.”
So what to do if a tooth is so infected that root canal therapy may be called for? There are some biological dentists who believe it can still be an option so long as the canal is thoroughly disinfected with ozone before sealing, but as we’ve noted, that may not be a good long-term solution.
Extraction may sound extreme, but in light of the havoc oral pathogens can cause, it really is often the lesser of two evils. Once the tooth is out, it may be replaced with a bridge, partial or possibly a zirconium implant.
Ultimately, the choice is yours to make. The important thing is to understand the risks and benefits of any dental procedure and determine the option that best matches your needs, goals and values.
It’s easy for the uninitiated to misunderstand the science behind holistic dentistry and its whole-body health approach. If you want to know more, one of our favorite introductions is the very readable Whole Body Dentistry by Mark A. Breiner, DDS, which covers the whole shebang. For more specific and in-depth information about root canals, check out:
Root Canal Cover-Up by George Meinig
Uninformed Consent : The Hidden Dangers in Dental Care by Hal Huggins
The Toxic Tooth: How a root canal could be making you sick by DDS Robert Kulacz and MD JD Levy
Image by Zzyzx11, via Wikimedia Commons