The dental procedure known as root canal has become ubiquitous. Even if a person hasn't been subjected to it, that person is bound to know someone who has.
I never suspected that there were any health dangers associated with the procedure until one days, years ago, I did a simple search on the Internet linking root canal and health problems. Of course, a lot of the results addressed the potential health problems that a root canal could remedy. However, there were others that warned about its risks. Here is a 2015 video in which a person who underwent the procedure talks about the consequences to her health:
Generally, it's difficult to link later health problems directly to root canal because their onset may take years to manifest. You might think that, unlike vaccinations, this dental money-maker is performed only on adult teeth but you'd be wrong. Here is a quote from a pediatric dentistry website:
Root canal treatment is a safe and effective way to stop many kinds of tooth pain, and to keep a tooth from being lost due to decay or injury. But if a root canal is recommended for your young child, you may wonder why: Isn't that baby tooth going to fall out in a few years anyway?
That's true — the primary (baby) teeth typically are shed between the ages of 6 and 12 years. Yet there are some good reasons for trying to save baby teeth for as long as possible with root canal treatment, rather than simply extracting any that are damaged by trauma or infection.
For one, primary teeth have the same functions as adult teeth — and a missing tooth at any age can cause problems with speech and eating. Baby teeth also have another important role: They serve as guides for the proper placement of the permanent teeth.
Without primary teeth to guide them in, permanent teeth tend to emerge in a crooked fashion, often becoming tilted or crowded because of inadequate space. This can result in bite problems that may require extensive orthodontic treatment later.
The 2007 scandal in the United States surrounding Small Smiles, a chain of Medicaid dental clinics for children, is an extreme example of how the lust for profits from baby root canals can get out of hand. To quote from the news article:
Parents weren’t allowed to sit with their children during treatment. Young children were routinely strapped to papoose boards, immobilised with Velcro straps. And she showed me a bonus check for beating production goals while acknowledging that she, like other dental staff, conducted x-rays on children even though they weren’t certified, a clear violation of Maryland law.
The key danger with root canal is the potential for bacteria, especially anaerobic, to proliferate in the tubules of the dentine and to later spread throughout the body. It would be a rare dentist who would ever warn a recipient of this danger. Like vaccinations, there is simply too much money to be made for the practice to be overturned anytime soon. The following story deserves to be quoted in full because it shows that some oral surgeons at least are aware of the dangers posed by root canals:
Root Canals and Heart Disease: My Personal Story
By: Dr. David Friedman
We’ve all known or heard of someone who died suddenly of a heart attack for no apparent reason. That 50 year old neighbour, seemingly healthy with no history of cardiovascular disease, found dead in his back yard after having a massive heart attack. What if this deadly heart attack could have been prevented by a simple visit to a dentist? Sadly, I could have been that man found dead on his lawn, had it not been for a dentist who saved my life.
Those that know me say I make the energiser bunny look lethargic. I wake up each morning with vigour and I always embrace the day with zest. I believe in seizing life to its fullest. About a year ago that all changed. My zig no longer zagged. I started going to bed tired and waking up even more exhausted. I was experiencing headaches and having a hard time concentrating. I went to see my doctor who did a complete physical and he discovered I had developed high blood pressure!! What?! How could that be possible? I’m a nutritionist. I eat clean and I exercise regularly. When the results of my blood test came back, I learned that I had elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is produced by the liver and rises when there is inflammation throughout the body. CRP is considered one of the major predictors of a future heart attack. My CRP measured a staggering 9.8 mg/L! Anything above 3.0 is considered a very high risk for heart attack and stroke.
The body produces CRP during the general process of inflammation which is why it is called the “marker” for inflammation in the body. Your level of CRP is a good indicator of how at risk you are for developing cardiovascular problems. In fact, research shows CRP predicts cardiovascular risk more accurately than a person’s cholesterol levels. Data from the Physicians Health Study, a clinical trial involving 18,000 apparently healthy doctors, found that elevated levels of CRP were associated with a 300% increase in the risk of heart attack.
In addition to an elevated CRP, my white blood cell levels were also high, meaning my body was clearly fighting some type of infection. This internal inflammation was causing a chronic low grade fever, high blood pressure of 170/110; normally my levels are 120/82, and a resting heart rate of 90; normally I’m at 50. With all these factors, I had “the perfect storm” for a massive heart attack! I immediately went to a cardiologist who performed a stress test, EKG and a nuclear heart scan. The findings showed my heart was normal and I had no blockage whatsoever. This was great news; however, I was anything but normal. As the months progressed, I felt even more miserable! No one could give me any answers. I only knew my body was suffering from systemic inflammation but I had no idea why.
Then one day while at a writer’s convention in California I met a dentist named Dr. P. Piero, from Michigan. He had just authored a book and was sharing it with me. As I thumbed through the pages, I noticed a section on C- reactive protein. I asked him why a dental book would have a section on this inflammatory marker? What he told me next would finally bring answers on why I was having so many health issues. Dr. Piero told me that the number one cause of elevated CRP is a bacterial infection in the gums (i.e. a tooth abscess). This creates inflammation inside the gums, which enters the blood stream and travels throughout the body. I explained to him that I did not have any tooth pain so this couldn’t be the culprit. He then asked me if I have had any root canals? I told him I’ve had three. Dr. Piero shared that in a root-canaled tooth, the nerve is destroyed so I may feel no pain.
When I got back home, I made an appointment with an Endodontist who discovered one of my root-canaled teeth was so badly abscessed it had eaten away part of my jaw bone! I made an appointment with an oral surgeon who had to extract the entire tooth and cut out the infection in my jaw bone using a tiny saw. The excruciating pain I experienced was beyond words! He would later pack cadaver bone inside the hole in my jaw, which will need to sit for approximately 6 months before I can get a dental implant.
The oral surgeon that performed the procedure explained that a root-canaled tooth is essentially “dead” which makes it silent incubators for highly toxic bacteria which can make their way into the bloodstream leading to a number of serious medical conditions—many not appearing until decades later. Within two days of having this failed root canal removed, I felt alive again! My energy, drive, endurance was back to normal! My heart rate and blood pressure were normal. After getting another blood test, I was happy to see my CRP was now at a normal level of 1.4 mg/L!
If you are told by your dentist that you need a root canal, there is a safer alternative. Instead of opting to keep a dead tooth that will rot in your mouth, opt for a dental implant. Trust me, it’s MUCH cheaper in the long run and safer! Had I not met Dr. Piero, I feel certain I would have ended up a healthy nutritionist found dead in my yard from a fatal heart attack.
The next time you go to your doctor ask him to check your CRP level. I believe this should be a routine part of everyone’s annual physical. There are two tests for CRP. One can show a non-specific elevation of CRP that occurs with general inflammatory changes in the body; the other test is called hs-CRP – highly sensitive CRP – which is a measure of inflammation in blood vessels. This is the test needed to help establish heart disease risk. Thankfully, more and more doctors are realising the importance of measuring hs-CRP levels along with cholesterol to determine the risk of heart disease and to evaluate disease progression and prognosis in those who already have cardiovascular disease. Be sure and ask your doctor for this test to determine if you are at risk.
I was about to quote from an article that appeared on a website belonging to the Toxic Elements Research Foundation (TERF), a non-profit research foundation dedicated to stimulating interest in the research community as well as informing the public to become aware of potential problems associated with dental materials and procedures. However, closer inspection revealed that TERF was simply a very basic website, last updated in 2009, and the work of a single person by the name of Jamie Tolle. There were good quotes to be had from the site and reference was made to a ground-breaking "study" that was soon to be released to a waiting world. However, it was clear that there was no research foundation. Sources always need to be checked.
The cruel reality is that, just as with vaccinations, there is no research being carried about the long-term effects of root canals. Where would the funding for this come from? There are too many vested interests involved to get anything meaningful research off the ground. It's medical orthodoxy that vaccinations are safe. Doctors who question that do so at their professional peril and it's dental orthodoxy that root canals are safe. Dentists who question that do so at their professional peril. Of course, not many will question the procedure, because it's never raised as an issue in their training.
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