When I was 5 years old, I remember buying a big box of pink tape gum and liquorice strings right before my family and I were about to fly from Newfoundland to our new hometown in British Columbia. “Gots’ to be prepared for the plane ride,” I mused.
But little did I know that over the course of the 7 hour flight I was blatantly over feeding the sugar-loving bacteria in my mouth, and would soon be faced with my first tooth infection at age 5. Even worse, my first root canal.
A root canal is hardly an enjoyable experience for a grown adult, let alone a 5 year old kid, and by the time I was 22, I had undergone 3 in total. Clearly, sugar had me. I was its female dog.
I never stopped to question the dental procedure itself, I mean, what kid or parent would question their dentist? All I knew was that is took away my throbbing pain, and I assume the same reasoning likely goes for the millions of patients who receive root canals every year in North America.
But there are more risks involved with root canals than many are aware of, as I recently discovered, the likes of which are a good cause for consideration.
When A Dentist’s Perspective Changed
In a recent article by Dr. Mercola, titled “Toxic Tooth—How a Root Canal Could Be Making You Sick,” an ex-dentist from New York named Dr. Robert Kulacz tells the story of how his thoughts on root canals shifted half-way through his years of practicing dentistry:
“I did a lot of root canals for many years. Everything was going smoothly until one day, a patient of mine said to me, ‘You know, I heard from my physician that root canals may be bad; that root canals may cause or contribute to other diseases in the body.'”
Kulacz explains that he investigated his patient’s claim so that he could prove him wrong, but to his surprise, the patient was onto something:
“I looked at Weston Price’s work, the work of Rosenow, and others. I decided to go to an IAOMT meeting… Dr. Boyd Haley’s lecture on root canals and [their toxicity] changed my life. I realized I was wrong…”
From this moment onwards, Kulacz says that he changed his practice, a decision that would later put his entire profession in jeopardy.
What Patients Need To Know Before Consenting To Root Canals
Dr. Kulacz stresses that he doesn’t completely disregard root canals, but that many dentists and dental organizations and boards dismiss the list of potential risks for patients.
“[Only when] a patient is informed that these root canal teeth remain infected; that bacteria can indeed travel to other sites in the body, and that bacteria in root canal teeth and the surrounding bone release potent toxins, can the patient then decide whether or not to have a root canal,”
Many dentists believe they can sterilize a root canal tooth and that the act of instrumenting and irrigating the canal will eliminate all the bacteria, but that’s not the case, says Dr. Kulacz.
“I’ve done biopsies on every root canal tooth that I have extracted. Almost all of them have remnants of necrotic debris still in that canal meaning that they were not thoroughly cleaned. Microbiological cultures of the surrounding bone showed infection almost 100% of the time.”
According to the American Dental Association (ADA), any bacteria remaining within the tooth structure becomes “entombed,” and will no longer be of concern, something Dr. Kulacz says is not true either.
The gutta-percha, he explains, the filling material used to seal the canal, is not getting into the tiny lateral canals that branch off the main canal, so leakage is almost always possible, especially since the tooth is porous.
And even a perfectly sealed root canal cannot prevent the small molecule exotoxins produced by the bacteria inside the root canal tooth from easily migrating out of the tooth and into the body. A tooth is more like a sponge than a solid structure.
“Now, it doesn’t mean that all root canal teeth are going to cause disease. It depends upon the type of bacteria that are in there, what kind of toxins they produce, and the immune system health of the individual.
But with 25 to 30 million root canals done per year, multiply that by how many years a person is alive, there’s a lot of root canals out there. And a lot of them are not good,” says Dr. Kulacz.
Bacteria from Root Canals May Worsen Other Diseases
While the ADA states that bacteria from root canal teeth can never travel to other areas in the body, Dr. Kulacz has a different story:
“[A] study done in 2013… compared the bacterial DNA in blood clots and arterial plaque in heart attack patients to the DNA of the bacteria in the mouth.
The same bacteria found in the root canal teeth and in gum disease are found in the plaques in coronary arteries and in the blood clots that caused the heart attack.
These bacteria move from the mouth into other sites of the body like the arterial plaques. They’ve also found the same bacteria in the pericardial fluid or the fluid that surrounds the heart… In heart disease you don’t want infection and inflammation in an arterial plaque.
The presence of oral bacteria from root canal teeth and gum disease in the arterial plaque and blood clots of heart attack patients points to direct causation, rather than correlation between oral infection and cardiovascular disease.”
Root Canal Bacteria “Hidden” From Immune System
Dr. Mercola furthers Kulacz’s proposition by explaining how bacteria trapped within root canal teeth are actually “hidden” from the immune system due to a lack of blood supply, and that the root canal tooth becomes more infected over time due to the influx of bacteria from the gum tissue surrounding the tooth.
“Other research has shown pathogenic bacteria from infected root canals destroy or kill the white blood cells designed to eliminate them, which is why the surrounding jaw bone can harbor such chronic infection. The bacteria can also evade your immune system by:
– Bacterial mimicry; mimicking your body’s own bacteria, which your white blood cells will not attack
– Disabling your antibodies and white blood cells
– Forming sticky biofilms”
Lastly, Dr. Kulacz stresses that he is not against mainstream dentistry, but that more discussion needs to be happening around root canals:
“We can’t become so closed-minded that we ignore mainstream dentistry or mainstream medicine just because we don’t believe one part of it. Just saying that we’re going to extract all root canal teeth and we’re going to cure all disease is not valid. That’s as bad as saying that root canal teeth can’t cause any problems. We have to find the balance… we have to evaluate objectively and then come to a reasonable conclusion and protocol on what to do with these root canal teeth.”
Your Options In Making A Decision
As with most medical interventions, preventative measures can always be taken to avoid the intervention in the first place. When it comes to tooth and gum health, diet and oral hygiene is almost always the primary cause of infection.
A healthy diet rich in whole foods and low in processed carbs is always your best protective measure against dental disease and infection.
Not only does a healthy diet optimize your immune system, but when we feed oral bacteria simple carbs, i.e., sugar, these microorganisms produce acidic by-products which in turn eat away at your teeth. Over time these acidic environments lead to more severe infections and the need for interventions like root canals.
Beyond that, Dr. Mercola recommends ozone therapy prior to root canal or extraction, a substance which destroys toxic material and increases your immune response. The ozone is injected around the site of infection with a syringe, and it usually takes a few visits to heal fully.
However, if the pulp tissue has died due to infection, nothing will bring it back to life.
If you decide to have the tooth extracted rather than doing a root canal, there are several options on how to restore that missing tooth. The first and least expensive option is with a removable appliance or partial denture. You need to take it out at night, put it back in in the morning, and keep it clean.
The second and considerably more expensive alternative is to do a bridge. The teeth on either side of the missing tooth are prepared for caps or crowns, and the missing tooth is attached to those two abutment teeth.
The bridge is permanently put in as one unit. The problem is you have to cut down a lot of the enamel on the adjacent teeth, which causes trauma to those teeth, potentially risking the need for another root canal over time.
There is also the choice of a dental implant, which is the most expensive of the bunch, and can cause issues within the mouth such a galvanizing with other metallic materials.
Dr. Kulacz prefers zirconium implants, as they do not have metallic ions found in titanium implants.
For more detailed information on root canals, be sure to check out Dr. Kulacz book, The Toxic Tooth: How a root canal could be making you sick.
What are your thoughts on root canals? Do you think that patients should given more warning about the potential risk factors? Share with us in the comment section below!
Any dentist who does a root canal on a five-year old should loose his licence. He is only looking for money. And a “sugar loaded” seven hour flight will not cause any condition requiring a root canal.
Hey Michel,
Thanks for your comment. I can’t tell you what the intentions of the dentist who performed my early dental procedures were, however, eating a sugary diet does in fact lead to tooth decay, hence opening up the potential for infection of the pulp tissue, in which case a root canal would be considered.
Jeff
If sugar was the cause of tooth decay I would not have one tooth left. Had one tooth extracted years ago and was told by a dentist many years after that she does not understand how that could have happened since the cavities I had were so minute that it should have been filled. Also, had my silver fillings replaced 10 years ago when I found out the dangers of having silver fillings.
Hi Ann,
Diet and oral hygiene are the main contributing factors in tooth decay and infection. When we feed our oral bacteria simple carbohydrates, such as sugar, they produce acidic environments in which plaque forms and sticks to the teeth.
Over time, plaque erodes the enamel and exposes the inner tissue to infection.
Everyone has different oral bacteria and immune systems, therefore some are more prone to decay and infection compared to others.
Hope that clarifies,
Jeff
True as far as that goes, but the chemo-parasitic model of dental caries is only part of the story. Ralph Steinman out of Loma Linda produced a lot of evidence clearly demonstrating that it is a systemic disease as well. In other words, it involves more than merely bacteria metabolizing carbohydrates on the surface of teeth.
I certainly buy into the dangers of root canal treatments, except that I don’t think Price et al made the exclusive claim that bacteria need necessarily escape the confines of the root-canaled tooth to cause havoc. The bacteria might indeed remain “entombed” but their powerful endotoxins readily leach out from the tooth just as their nutrients must necessarily leach in.
Brian McLean, DDS
http://www.DentistryWithoutMercury.com
Sounds like amalgam, I had mine removed too. http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/DentalProducts/DentalAmalgam/ucm171094.htm
Hello Michael, I had a rootcanal in 1976…I was 6 yrs old. My father was in the military so our dental was free. It can be necessary to have one at such a young age. I was however his youngest patient ever for a root canal.
In 1947, our dentist in France said to my mother: pretty soon you will have dentists tell you to brush your teeth with toothpaste 3 or 4 times a day; don’t believe it! water and a tooth brush will do it. Likewise, I have a metal that was set in 1957; ever since I artived in Canada, every dentist has told me it should be replaced, as it is old. Guess what! It has lasted 58 years and will probably last for another 20. After that, should I really care?
As a practicing dentist, I’m pretty sure the procedure carried out (on a 5 yr old) was a pulpotomy or pulpectomy, basically similar to a root canal but it’s a different procedure. This is done so that an early extraction is not necessary. People often assume that milk teeth does not carry much function but it’s important in maintaining the size of your arch so that there is adequate space for your permanent teeth to grow. Early extractions can lead to malaligned teeth later on which would result in more expensive orthodontic treatment.
Nobody 5 yrs old gets a root canal, because nobody 5 yrs old has permanent teeth and root canals can’t be done in primary teeth, so yes any dentist who does a root canal on a five-year old should loose his license.
Michel root canals are only done on permanent adult teeth. A pulpotomy is done on primary teeth and then the tooth is covered with a cap. It isn’t fun for a child but a child wouldn’t get one had proper care been taken in the first place.
[ Smiles ] The topic of root canals is, a serious one.
I think that we really need to delve deeply into this topic by doing further research.
However, I am highly appreciative of the information presented!
[ Smiles ] Hmm. My first comment mysteriously disappeared into nothingness.
Anyway, I believed that I wanted to say that the topic of a root canal is a very controversial one; since there are dentists who believe that such a procedure is an unnecessary one.
Also, we must go a step further by gathering up-to-date information on root canals before we ever dream of going through the process ourselves.
Thank you for another though-provocative post.
Thanks for the article, Jeff. I recently had to decide between a root canal and losing some molars. Granted, I made the decision to give up a few of my teeth over forking out nearly all of my savings toward moving to Australia before I read this article, but I’ll certainly be sharing it with my friends. Do you have any idea whether Dr. Kulacz has any additional articles or papers about his research online (besides the mercola.com link)?
Hi Amanda,
Happy you enjoyed the read 🙂
If you are looking for a more in depth resource, my recommendation would be to read Dr. Kulacz’s two books:
The Root Of Disease: http://www.amazon.ca/The-Roots-Disease-Robert-Kulacz/dp/1401048943
The Toxic Tooth: http://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Tooth-canal-could-making/dp/0983772827/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431364806&sr=8-1&keywords=the+toxic+tooth
He’s spoken about this topic on various radio-blogs, here is one of them from 2012:
http://www.mouthbodydoctor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Robert-Kulacz.mp3
Here is his interview with Dr. Mercola: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txwwsWI6tHA
Hope that is a good start for you!
Cheers,
Jeff
This the website of the two doctors who wrote the book: http://www.toxictooth.com/
Hi Jeff,
Interesting article. A few of months ago I had quite a bit of pain in a molar which lasted for a while but I did not act upon it and after some time the pain went away.
Yesterday I went to see my hygienist and she told me that I need a root canal treatment and that the molar was actually dead.
I now wonder, since it feels perfectly fine now for some time, if I should do it at all?
Would there be any risks if I will leave it and trust my immune system to take care of it?
Thanks
Pete.
Hey Pete,
I am sorry to hear about that, pain from issues with the teeth can be unbearable to deal with.
Unfortunately, I am not a doctor and therefore I don’t feel comfortable giving you advice on this matter. However, I would caution ignoring a tooth that has died from infection, this could lead to other more serious problems down the road.
I would simply inquire to your dentist and hygienist about all of your options. Dentists know that root canals are not always effective, so they will have other options available for you to choose from
Good luck!
Jeff
Hey Jeff – I had a root canal over a year ago. The area around the tooth normally discharges blood ever since, but I don’t experience any discomfort and the gums don’t seem irritated or swollen at all. The discharge usually happens in the morning and the blood doesn’t seem infected or acrid. I called the office several times where I had the procedure done and they assured me it was normal…What do you think?
Pete – there are many cases of teeth dying and going through a process of recalcifying the canals where vital nerves once were. The teeth remain functional (maintaining the correct spacing in the arch as well as providing chewing surface for the opposing teeth) and can remain symptom free and strong. As long as you are not hitting too hard on that tooth when you bite ( you can have your occlusion checked to confirm this) you will most likely never have any problems with it. Sounds like your immune system has already done it’s job quite well!
The technology used today is very different from the one used @ the times of Dr. Price. I will agree that about 15% of RCT’s(root canal treatment) are not successful, sometimes due to a vertical fracture(unseen in x-rays), some due to poor technique & lack of caring by the dr. and some due to external colonization of certain bacteria which manage to create an impermeable layer at the tip of the root(hence apical surgery needed). The object of a RCT is to remove nerve tissue or bacteria from the canals and refill it with rubber & cement so bacteria has a hard time reinfecting the tooth. If the tooth is properly cleaned and sealed the tooth should not get reinfected. I’ve seen RCT’s last for over 40 years without any problems. To me this doesn’t justify the removal of teeth which are so necessary for enjoying your food(and esthetics). A heathy diet and good hygiene habits should allow you to keep your teeth for ever, and of course special care to teeth that have been worked on because those are more susceptible to infection.
Dr. Mercola cited an example of an MD or DDS who discovered this YEARS ago, like almost a century. Why there has been no more study on this blows my mind. This is the only case where a professional health care person is putting dead tissue back into a healthy body. The study about the woman who was wheelchair bound and then her diseased root-canaled tooth was removed, put under the skin of a healthy rabbit which then became stricken with the same ailments as the woman (who conversely, recovered quickly after the root-canaled tooth was extracted). The rabbit died. That’s all the proof I need for more studies to be done. I would never have a root canal. I’d pony up the dollars and get a zirconium implant if needed. It’s cheap compared to the alternative.
My teeth have been my nemasis from the age of 27, I live in pain daily, some days unable to function. I live in Canada on a low income and cannot afford the treatment I need, but recently I experienced excruciating pain from a molar I had had a root canal on some 5 years ago, it turned out to be a monstrous abscess. I had the tooth removed. I feel that extraction is probably better financially and health wise, but aesthetically it is depressing. I too as a child was a sugar junky, I have now lost 4 molars and find eating incredibly difficult, and I do not smile anymore in case people see the horrible gaps. The cost of dentistry is so terrifying, especially when ones teeth are the cause of daily pain … I would have implants if it was affordable
You claim all such things , where is the research backing this up !
Read the links provided. Several studies are referenced, eonin. Do the research you claim others have not. Especially when it is linked in the comnent next to yours.
An analogy I’ve found helpful:
Think of a carrot fresh from the ground, that has all those tiny little hair-sized roots emerging from the main root (carrot). Human tooth roots *also* have these tiny little “rootlets” that are not, and cannot, be removed or addressed when a root canal is done. They remain as repositories for bacteria: they die and decay (becoming necrotic), and their canals provide the perfect place for bacteria to use as a “safe house” away from the circulatory system (blood and lymph which circulate immune response). They can leak out from over-growth, or from pressure that squishes the root area (i.e. biting or other activities). Some researchers have found antibiotic-resistant “super bug” bacteria in root canal teeth.
Recently researchers have discovered a flip-side similar practice involving the appendix and beneficial gut bacteria: it turns out that when we get a gut infection, or are taking antibiotics that wipe out the good gut bacteria, the appendix serves as a sort of “safe house” for our little buddies, a place where some of them can survive and later emerge to repopulate our digestive tract.
Back to teeth: I’m lucky that I found a holistic dentist (addresses the whole body’s health): she sent me to the lab for thyroid testing because she noticed it was a bit swollen. Turns out I have a high level of antibodies attacking my thyroid (indicates a systemic infection, likely chronic). One of the things we’re doing to try to address this is to remove my root canal tooth that we *know* is infected. I’m quite happy to go with an extraction and getting a partial, rather than trying to keep something going that’s contributing to ongoing systemic infection. I’m sure my thyroid will thank me.
This is a terribly misinformed article. There is a ton of actual scientific evidence about root canals and how they are safe. For anyone interested, please read The Journal of Endodontics. Also, Weston Price’s research has been disproven many times Doing root canals on children can literally save their life.
children NEVER need root canals on their baby teeth
my sons dentist pulled out 4 of his teeth that needed( during 6 months) fillings becasue he was going to have new teeth come out anyway within a year
swedish dentists are much smarter than american ones
no mercury no metals in the mouth
i was completely shocked to see so many kids in the US had metal fillings and gold teeh/crowns !!!!
This article is misleading: Are some root canals unsuccessful and cause issues with infection? Yes. Most are very successful and last for years without issue. The diagram shown shows health concerns due to periodontal disease not infected root canals. (this diagram summarized a large body of research related to gum disease not isolated infected root canal teeth) If completely eliminating any oral bacteria is one’s goal, the only way to achieve this is to have all of the teeth extracted and not replace them with anything. Gumming your food obviously would cause major GI issues. As far as a root canal in a baby tooth goes, this is typically done to save a child from major orthodontic issues not to put a little cash in the dentist’s pocket.
I am shocked anyone would do a root canal on a 5 y.o…. I heard the claims that root canals are bad a while ago, but never really looked into it in detail, but I have to say when I head the 5 y.o.’s root canal part of the story it makes me question the validity of the whole story. However I will look into the link you provided to hopefully find balanced info.
Hi Marta,
Thanks for the comment. I can see what you are saying, 5 years old is very young to receive a root canal. However, it is in fact the truth, it was in 1995 in Prince George, B.C., Dr. J. Brown was his name.
All the best to you,
Jefff
My son just had his Tomour taken out just a few days ago,from the root canal that the dentist have done a few years ago and it really makes him so sick..I got sooo sick from worry because of the tumour that grew ..just for waiting for the result of the biopsy is so to0 much..please dont let your dentist decide for you…
Hearing this worries me a lot as the dentists at my clinic while doing root canals broke off a drill bit and left them in my mouth on two different occasions he said it will be alright alright I said uck no its not alright my lawyer said only way he could do anything about it was if i could get other dentists to say he was negligent and thats just not going to happen so they are still there what is this going to do to me
I had a root canal at age 17, it got re-infected about a year later so I got it redone. Then it got re-infected five years later so I pulled the tooth.
This Is very concerning. I have at least 9 teeth with root canals. I ate tons of sugar as a child! I also have been struggling with sore throats, ear aches and sinus problems and have been to multiple MDs regarding this. No one has figured out what is going on! I am going to talk with doctor regarding my many root canals.
go to a holistic dentist who knows the link between health and teeth
better to have a denture and feel good than bad teeth and bad health 🙂
i recently had 5 teeth pulles and feel so so much better
i had constant era infections, face infections , sinus stuff and extreme tiredness
Good article Jeff and very interesting. As we speak, my grandson is facing a root canal…..wait for it! At two! Two! My daughter found another dentist and he recommends a filling with nerve work, still sounds like a root canal to me. I think the tooth should be pulled and a spacer put in place…what do all the good people reading this forum say?
I agree, good article but I just want to add, are you sure the treatment is root canal therapy and not a pulpotomy?
They are real similar in a way, but a pulpotomy is the child’s version of root canal, where only the coronal(crown) part of the pulp is removed as that is the only infected part of the tooth and filled with normal filling materiel. This leaves healthy root pulp tissues that resorb naturally as the tooth starts to exfoliate?
And for the grandson to be getting that extensive treatment at the ages, let’s just say the dentist is trying to help out the child for ‘his’ poor diet and hygiene…which is not based on the mother.
Interesting article…
Being a dentist myself, I would like clear a few points here…
1. Some root calls do fail.
2. Most of them are successful.
3. Baby teeth do have roots and those roots do have canals inside them, which may get infected due to number of reasons- the treatment of which is called root canal treatment (to be more precise it’s called pulpectomy)
4. Chronic abscesses due to failing root canals may cause more problems- thats why a six monthly check up is required (but sadly the patient comes only when in pain)
5. Any ethical dentist will normally remove a hopeless tooth rather than doing a root canal.
6. The benefits and risks need to be evaluated before jumping to any conclusion.
This is very interesting. I wish dentist and doctors conferred for this very reason. For 3 years I went to the doctor for chronic pain. I was diagnosed with the common disease that people are given when they don’t know what else to say. And, I pretty much felt like they thought I was nuts. But there were times when it hurt to be touched.
Guess what. I had an infection in my jaw that was under a bridge where no one looked because there was not a tooth there. ( My dentist was booked so I went to a different one and he discovered the infection ).
The infection was so bad I literally heard a gasp from the endodonist.
Once the infection was scraped I felt like a new person and have not looked back!
I had a root canal done awhile ago now. over 5 years for sure. the crown/cap has fallen off and i hadn’t had insurance until just very recently. im terrified of going back to a dentist due to my last dentist had terrible practice and hurt me. it has been months since it fell off hasn’t bothered me at all, should i have the tooth removed? i cannot afford another crown/cap and the one i had doesn’t fit anymore (feels way too big now)
A very misleading article.
Our mouth is constantly infected with 400-700 different types of bacteria. They don’t cause a constant illness because the infection is under control, and there is an equilibrium in the environment. Root canals are not sterile, and in most cases do not completely eliminate the infection, but control it.
An implant or a bridge or a partial denture are not sterile too, and may lead to increased risk of gum infection (in many cases), and to many cases of pulp necrosis (need of root canal).
So what is the solution?
Take out all of the teeth?
NO!
A good root canal can last for years, and with today’s technology, root cleaning is much better then it was before.
So before you look for someone to pull out your tooth, look for someone who can do a decent root canal treatment, because according to this artice, it is better to live without teeth at all..
Kulacz, dds, was running on dated information before he lost his license in 1995. Now he wrote a book and Mercola is helping him sell it and his unlicensed brand of woo.
Since 1981 my dentists have prescribed antibiotics before dental procedures that went below the gum line or into the pulp chamber – which includes root canals. There is a strong correlation between heart disease and gingivitis, aka gum disease http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/periodontal-disease-heart-health . Dental procedures disturb gum bacteria, and if there is injury, the bacterial can get into the blood system, hence the precaution. Anyone with a heart murmur should also do the antibiotic regimen.
The CE article claims: “[Only when] a patient is informed that these root canal teeth remain infected; that bacteria can indeed travel to other sites in the body, and that bacteria in root canal teeth and the surrounding bone release potent toxins, can the patient then decide whether or not to have a root canal,”
Everyone forgets that antibiotics can also cure bacterial infections.
Infection isn’t why dentists do root canals. pain is. Pain from trapped gas for pilots and divers; broken roots for popcorn eaters and bar fighters; poor occlusion that cannot be corrected. I’m sure there are more. The real question is: Which is better for the patient?
Kulacz makes the disturbing claim that a root canal can cause (any unspecified) disease a person suffers, and removing the diseased tooth is a cure. Oh, I so hope the cure is that easy for cancer, parkinsons and heart disease. But I bet it isn’t.
That said, root canals are probably a minor source of infection and heart disease compared to gingivitis. If you have persistent bad breath or bleeding gums, get checked for gum disease. Gum disease is the main cause of tooth loss.
Maybe Kulacz could mention those things in the book he is hawking.
I recently had a molar prepped for a crown and the dentist said it needed a root canal, but he would not do it: He sent me to an orthodontist who used tools and procedures I had never experienced on previous root canals done by dentists. One of those tools bored while it injected anesthesia and sterile saline continuously to flush debris and kill pain. The old method I’m familiar with is to bore a hole and insert files to enlarge it while extracting the nerve and vessel tissue, then pack the hole with gutta percha, a latex made from trees. I didn’t ask what the packing was this time, but I bet it was a resin. It took an hour and added $1100 to the dentist’s $800 bill for a gold crown.
The Mercola recommendation for ‘ozone therapy to kill the infection’ is bizarre. Ozone is O3. Hydrogen peroxide is weakly ozonated water – H2O3. Ozone is highly toxic and causes burns. Ozone treatment is ill advised because it is unkind to healthy tissue. My bet is that a homeopath who claims to inject it is really using saltwater. Injecting hydrogen peroxide is too dangerous. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_therapy Again, he forgets about antibiotics. Or did he?
Mercola also recommends electro-acupuncture as a diagnostic tool. Acupuncture relies on the placebo effect producing endorphins. How that works as a diagnostic took stinks of 19th century electro-therapy and snake oil peddlers.
Kulacz claims that zirconium is better implant material than titanium because it is not metallic. Zirconium is a metal. Odd that he would forget.
raising doubt over a procedure has been done thousands or millions of times is not that simple to be made by a book or an article. if its toxic to do RCT ADA then would announce it,
It took me few minutes to look over Robert Kulacz, DDS educational back ground. Clearly he is trying to push toward replacing all root canal treatment with Implants. think about it : for now days patients the most logical or acceptable option when you have an infected teeth is : 1. Root canal and save it 2. Extract it then Implant. that guy wants all patients to go to the second option immediately. Let me tell you something. Nothing replace what nature gave you, a tooth with well done root canal and good prognosis is much better than an implant : no doubt
its so sad to see patients actually think this is real !!..
that article is worth nothing, for business only !
By : ethical dentist
I had two root canals done at a clinic for those less able to pay the full price on dental services. They were not done well. The caps or crowns kept coming off, and I would have to slip them back on. Unfortunately, this dental clinic would only allow you to come back within 30 days. I would say that within a year these crowns came off permanently. I’ve never been able to afford to do anything about it. The material in my gums is still there. I’ve been afraid to go to a dentist since. I guess I should just have the base material removed and let the gums heal, doing nothing else to those missing teeth.
Klare: Crowns and root canals are two separate procedures. Here’s a video that might help you understand the differences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itrX9l9FTt4
Did the affected teeth already have crowns or did the clinic cast new ones and give you temporaries that fell off while the permanent crowns were being made? ? If the latter, they make temporaries held in place with weak cement so they come off easily. It’s possible you have already paid for the permanent crowns and installing them is already paid for, so go back and find out.
Hey Jeff, This is Namrata from India. I found your post really helping. My English is not good pardon for that. Jeff I had undergone a ROOT CANAL a few months back. Reason was not a tooth decay but because I was hurt by a ROCK while I was playing a few years back. Due to which my tooth was damaged internally and got black. And hence doctors suggested RC. Now I have noticed that the tooth just next to the RC tooth is turning yellow. Jeff could you plz tell me the reason why? Shall I go for the next RC but I don’t like RC and consuming those allopathic medicines again. Thank You!
I had one root canal, got it done, got it capped. Just under two years later it abscessed. I paid a fortune to get it fixed and then had to get it pulled and spent a fortune on that. I’ll never get another one again. It was a molar so it can be hard to eat sometimes. Also, my kids have their wisdom teeth and everything is fine. I think half the dental stuff is a rip off and not necessary.
So what should you do if you already have root canals? Can they be removed?
Jeff says: Dr. Mercola furthers Kulacz’s proposition by explaining how bacteria trapped within root canal teeth are actually “hidden” from the immune system due to a lack of blood supply, and that the root canal tooth becomes more infected over time due to the influx of bacteria from the gum tissue surrounding the tooth.
[Bacteria cannot live without nutrients. If the tooth is sealed how do nutrients get inside the root?
How do bacteria enter a sealed tooth?
Mercola should have talked to an endodontist who would have explained hidden roots. Or read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_canal
There are times when canals are just small bifurcations and aren’t always obvious, so they go untreated. This situation is one of the most common causes of continued pain. An untreated canal isn’t hidden from the body where blood vessels and nerves are still intact but may have lost the war, so it hurts.
The photo with the legend “Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrograph. E. faecalis biofilm attached to the root canal wall and entering the dentinal tubule; Journal of Applied Oral Science. was taken from a study done by Esther NAVARRO-ESCOBAR in J. Appl. Oral Sci. vol.21 no.1 Bauru Jan./Feb. 2013 Granada, Spain. Here’s a link to the study: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1678-77572013000100074
Another study also discusses leakage into the root canal. To summarize, the quality of the seal on the top of the root canal seems to determine long term success or failure: http://www.oralhealthgroup.com/news/endodontics-coronal-leakage-a-clinical-studies-review/1000107482/?&er=NA
Thanks for sharing. I always wondered about some dental procedures that could be the root cause for other health issues. How can you check current root canals for possible hidden bacteria? Why wait to become sick or continue to feel off and doctors tell you nothing is wrong, it’s just stress.
I have root canal long time ago say 39 years….what will i do with these root canals to remove all the toxins inside. please advice. Thank you.
Great summary of Dr. Mercola’s root canal article. I do have a question. The article does not mention anything about root canals and sinusitis. I had a few upper pre-molars that were badly decayed and had root canals done about 8 years ago. I now have chronic sinusitis. I have had sinus surgery and tried many different therapies from ENT’s, all to no avail. I really think the root canals have created a constant source of bacteria that is going into my sinuses. I went to a dentist and he didnt see anything on X-Ray and couldnt help.. What are your thoughts on chronic -seemingly un-curable sinusitis caused by root canals? Sometimes i even have a foul smell exactly like a rotten cavity in my nose. Mupirocin ointment swabbed in my nose is the only thing that helps, but even that doesnt make it go away for good. Is there a dental imagining test that can detect if my sinusitis is caused from a bad root canal?
rnewton You bring up a good point. The roots of upper teeth occasionally penetrate the sinus cavity where infection can enter the tooth. I’ve had a molar extracted and noted I could draw air thru the socket. The dentist added a few stitches and it healed fine.
You should see a periodontist who has the special equipment and trained to image, evaluate and treat your type of problem. https://www.perio.org/consumer/periodontist2.htm
It’s possible that cleaning and re-packing the root canal will solve your problem, depending on how bad it is. It probably won’t improve with time, so don’t procrastinate. I am stunned that a dentist didn’t suggest it.
I had a root canal done over 5 yrs ago and the cap fell off a few months ago it no longer fits on the tooth at all and i can see the metal screw the horrible dentist i had put in there. I dont have any pain at all or sensitivity. what will happen if i dont ever get a new cap? i had a terrifying experience when i had all my wisdom teeth out from my previous dentist and have been scared to goto a dentist since. are root canalled teeth easier to pull out then a normal tooth? im so scared to go back. please guide me!
Danielle said: I had a root canal done over 5 yrs ago and the cap fell off a few months ago it no longer fits on the tooth at all and i can see the metal screw the horrible dentist i had put in there. I dont have any pain at all or sensitivity. what will happen if i dont ever get a new cap? i had a terrifying experience when i had all my wisdom teeth out from my previous dentist and have been scared to goto a dentist since. are root canalled teeth easier to pull out then a normal tooth? im so scared to go back. please guide me!
[ None of your problem has to do with the root canal. The crown was protecting it. If the area is pain free it is holding up. But if you chew on the unprotected tooth post it will break the seal and allow bacteria and nutrients into the root chambers, which will get infected and rot. Take the crown to a dentist and have it evaluated. She might just glue it back on. But if you’ve been chewing on it you may have broken the seal that keeps bacteria out of the canals, so don’t be surprised if she recommends you have the canal opened up, cleaned and resealed, then glue the crown back on. Since there is no nerve in the tooth it should be fairly painless. Do it now before you damage the tooth post or the bacteria form an abscess and you’ll need the tooth pulled. It will only get more expensive the longer you delay.
You mention a screw. Did you have an implant? Then it will be simple to fix.
If it has been 5 years since you last saw a dentist go now. it’s time.]
rnewton: I’m stupid. I meant endodontist – they are the experts on root canals, tho the perio guys might help.
Jeff. I’ve been reading this writings… since I would not call this an article and I disagree with a lot of stuff written here or in the link you’ve posted.
My recomendation: I believe people should ask this kind of questions to a dentist instead a place where there’s only theories.
I guess Jeff knows about the topic, but he has not studdied as much as a dentist and have not seen any patients, marely only his experience.
There is so many articles that had been written about root canal treatment… and some of them with 20 years follow-up at least.
If root canal would be useful then there wouldn’t be specialties in endodontics.
Hey Pepe,
Thank you for your comment, I agree with you, I am not a dentist and therefore I am in no position to give people definitive advice about this procedure. The purpose of the article was to discuss some of the risks involved with root canal procedures, risks that are often over looked and that often go unmentioned to most patients in a dental office.
I studied dental hygiene in post-secondary, so I do have an understanding of oral hygiene and pathology. That being said, I think Dr. Kulacz’s proposition is something to be considered for anyone facing the decision to have a root canal procedure.
Cheers,
Jeff
Hey Jeff, This is Namrata from India. I found your post really helping. My English is not good pardon for that. Jeff I had undergone a ROOT CANAL a few months back. Reason was not a tooth decay but because I was hurt by a ROCK while I was playing a few years back. Due to which my tooth was damaged internally and got black. And hence doctors suggested RC. Now I have noticed that the tooth just next to the RC tooth is turning yellow. Jeff could you plz tell me the reason why? Shall I go for the next RC but I don’t like RC and consuming those allopathic medicines again. Thank You!
What do you do if you have had a (or several) root canals done and feel that they are not healthy? I have a couple that are not right, lots of bleeding when I floss by these teeth, taste of “infection”…my dentist thinks only what he does is right, I’ve tried to discuss many things with him, and will just brush it off. The closest holistic dentist is 4 hours away. What are my options with this? Thanks so much for this article.
I had a root canal done 4 years ago. It was always sensitive and crazy health issues surfaced once it was done like hives, yeast infections and joint pain and stiffness. I thought it might be the root canal but no dentist or doctor would really talked to me about it. Finally a new dentist commented on my incomplete root canal and that pushed me over the edge to have it removed. Two days after the removal my knee felt better and every day they continue to improve. I also haven’t had any more hives or yeast infections. Take your teeth seriously.
I meant to comment that I have a front tooth that I banged in a bike accident almost 30yrs ago and once in awhile it will get sore a couple of days then goes away even several years before recurring. Should I even worry about it getting worse some day? My dentist back then wanted to do a root canal on it as it was tested “dead” but I always shrugged it off!
Bruce: Your implication is that you haven’t been to a dentist in 30 years. Is that true?
Sometimes teeth turn dark when it dies. Is yours?