The Suppressed Health Risks of Root Canals
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Did you know that root canals can have untold negative effects on your health?
There is recognition among integrative dentists and physicians that dental health has a tremendous impact on the overall health of the body.
People are slowly discovering the hidden dangers of things like root canals and mercury amalgams as more medical professionals speak out about their dangers.
From what I’ve witnessed as a thermographic technician, and from a medical thermographic perspective, it is becoming more common to see oral inflammation that drains from the oral cavity, down the anterior neck, and into the lymphatic system. In some cases, this can create lymphatic pathways into the breast tissue, as you can see from the image below.
It is important to know that there is a relationship between specific teeth and illness.
In the 1950s, Reinhold Voll, M.D., of Germany discovered that each tooth in the mouth correlates to a specific acupuncture meridian.
Using his electroacupuncture biofeedback technique, he found that if a tooth became infected or diseased, the organ on the same meridian became infected or diseased, as well. The opposite also held true, that dysfunction in an organ could lead to dysfunction in the corresponding tooth.
One of the founding members of the American Association of Endodontists, Dr. George Meinig, D.D.S, F.A.C.D., in his 1993 book, Root Canal Cover-Up, highlights the root canal research of Dr. Weston Price.
In Root Canal Cover-Up, Dr. Meinig said, “The word about the serious side effects of root canal is getting out. The late Dr. Weston Price, D.D.S., M.S., F.A.C.D., former director of Research for the American Dental Association, discovered that root canals had within them bacteria capable of producing many diseases. He made the claim that if teeth that have had root canals are removed from people suffering heart or kidney disease, these diseases will resolve.”
He found that even after rigorous sterilization, implanting these teeth under the skin of over 5000 rabbits resulted in the animal developing the same disease as the person and resulted in the animal dying of that disease within weeks. He observed this over a period of time and coined the term “focal infection.”
Dr. Price’s research was suppressed and buried by a minority of self-interested dentists and physicians who refused to accept his focal infection theory. Most dentists today have never even heard of these 25-year studies.
Most of the time, the bacteria he found were part of the streptococcus family, but he also found staphylococcus, spirochetes, and fungi.
He found that if a patient had more than one root canal-treated tooth, he could actually have different organisms infecting each one of the infected teeth.
That is the reason some people have different ailments from their teeth all at the same time. Infected root canals have a detrimental effect on the immune system, causing a number of different illnesses.
Your dentist may think that the disinfecting treatment he uses during a root canal would cause the death of these bacteria.
This treatment does kill most of the bacteria in the root canal, but Dr. Price found not one of over 100 disinfectants he studied was capable of penetrating the tubules. The same holds true for antibiotics today.
The bacteria do not die off because the root canal filling blocks off their source of nutrients, as the bacteria are capable of mutating and changing their form.
Dr. Price found that the challenge of a changed environment actually caused the organisms to become much stronger and their toxins became much more toxic.
What happens is bacteria escape to other parts of the body through what’s called a focal infection, which is an infection in one part of the body that travels to another part and sets up a new site of infection.
Still, 25-30% of people seem to get along fine with root-canaled teeth for many years without any detrimental effects.
Typically, these are people who had no history of degenerative diseases, and usually had a strong immune system, which was capable of engulfing any bacteria present, preventing them from being sick.
Ask yourself, how good is your immune system and how long will it be able to protect you?
What Dr. Carey O’Rielly, an integrative dentist based in Encinitas, CA, has to say about the immune system is invaluable to know if you have any of the health issues he mentions.
“Price usually recommended avoiding root canal treatment and extracting the tooth if the individual’s immune system is battling one or more degenerative illnesses or chronic diseases. If you have an immune condition like an autoimmune disease, Lyme disease, a heart condition, arthritis, and possibly even cancer you need to be more careful in doing root canals. Basically, any condition that weakens your immune system makes root canals riskier and less likely to succeed. If your body is already dealing with an immune challenge, infected teeth just add more stress to an already taxed immune system, and vice versa. Just because a tooth doesn’t hurt or there is no swelling doesn’t mean it’s OK.
“New technologies have come onto the scene that will change the results possible and improve the health of not only teeth but the patient as well,” he said.
Dr. O’Rielly feels the most ingenious new technology to come onto the market is ozone.
“Ozone effectively and efficiently deals with the problem of residual bacteria in the accessory canals and the dentinal tubules that both Price and Meinig were talking about,” he said.
Biological dentistry stresses the use of non-toxic restoration materials for dental work and focuses on the unrecognized impact that dental toxins and hidden dental infections can have on overall health.
This form of dentistry treats the teeth, jaw, and related structures with specific regard to how the treatment will affect the entire body.
Most biological dentists use advanced technologies, and one visit can reveal much about the current state of your mouth and teeth.
For instance, using medical thermographic imaging, areas of suspected inflammation and infection can be identified because they present as heat. Then, once an area of concern is identified, it needs further investigation and resolution.
Some cases of inflammation have been caused by a low-grade chronic infection, and upon dental correlation, have been attributed to periodontal disease, TMJ dysfunction, dental restorations like amalgams, or treatments such as root canals.
What this shows is that your mouth is a mirror of your health.
If you want to achieve better oral health, you should eat an alkalizing, antioxidant-rich, and anti-inflammatory diet, replace toothpaste and antibacterial/alcohol-based mouthwashes with an oral rinse, and/or toothpaste that nourishes your oral microbiome. And make sure to choose toothpaste without fluoride.
To recap, Dr. Price and Dr. Meinig both spoke about the fact that those who can tolerate root canals tend to have a strong immune system. This is no surprise, as a strong immune system is the key to fighting any illness or disease.
Yours in radiant health!
Patricia
P.S. Please watch this documentary on the truth on root canals – it was censored off Netflix.