# Are Root Canals Really Toxic?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 17, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576 "2013-02-17T04:29:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/301 "2013-11-08T14:47:26Z")
**ineedthetruth** has not posted here (unless such has been done under another name) since having posted a link to a fabricated journal page [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16774066#post16774066) and his instruction by Colibri to “not to open another thread on this or a similar subject.” I fear Cheshire must be correct. It’s hard to deny the proof. ---
**Author:** ![DagNation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@DagNation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DagNation)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/302 "2013-11-11T07:23:10Z")
Fun thread! and now I have a few questions and comments… When my dentist told me to get rid of the mercury fillings, and I did, did I go through all that pain and moderate co-pay for NOTHING? I knew it sounded like BS! I liked that dentist up til now. He also told me that fillings need to be replaced every 10-20 years anyway, was that BS too? Every drilling and extraction I have ever had (no RCTs) I have experienced pain, no matter how much Novocain (or whatever) was used on me - I just have a thick jaw or some weirdly placed nerves or something. The most ever used was one whole ampule and part of a second on one quarter of my mouth for fillings on multiple teeth in that quarter. The shots help A LOT, but have never been 100%. This is with at least 4 dentists over the years. I had a couple that would put some topical stuff on before the shots, and I didn’t feel the shots themselves - except for some weird pressure. So it works, just not 100%. How common is this (the incomplete numbing), and is there a better way besides general anesthetic? Please note that I had 5 wisdom teeth and the roots have a very wide stance - they don’t all come together like normal (like a ballerina). They are not like butcher blocks with straight legs, they are like fancy furniture with curved splayed out legs. That is why I think it is my thick jaw that makes the Novocain not work 100%. If you can afford to go to the dentist, why would you not go as soon as there is pain? The only reason I have ever put off going to the dentist is due to money. If I had the money, I would have gladly gone through a root canal to save the last tooth I had extracted - but it probably would not have gone that far if I could have afforded to deal with it when the pain started. Once it starts hurting, does it ever get better on it’s own? Finally, why is it that the scariest syringe I have ever seen is the one that goes in my mouth? When I get a vaccine, it is a skinny, simple, plastic thing with a needle. The dentist uses one that looks like it is straight from Dr. Frankenstein’s lab! It is the most steam punk looking thing a doctor has ever brought near me! Can’t they use a nice skinny simple looking one? I’m no needle-phobe, but sheesh! Dag ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/303 "2013-11-11T08:10:06Z")
> [@DagNation](#): > > If you can afford to go to the dentist, why would you not go as soon as there is pain? The only reason I have ever put off going to the dentist is due to money. If I had the money, I would have gladly gone through a root canal to save the last tooth I had extracted - but it probably would not have gone that far if I could have afforded to deal with it when the pain started. Once it starts hurting, does it ever get better on it’s own? > Dag Dental work, I’ve found, is a lot like taxes. You always end up paying. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/304 "2013-11-11T12:54:22Z")
Didn’t Arafat once have a root canal? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/305 "2013-11-11T14:11:51Z")
**Dagnation** , if your dentist told you to get rid of mercury fillings or that they need to be replaced every 10-20 years it was BS, unethical and in my mind possibly malpractice. I place amalgam all the time it is a safe cheep and long lasting restorative material. I have one that is 50 years old and several that are 40ish years old. I see ones every day in my practice that are old and don’t need to be replaced. As for anesthetic, a thick jaw isn’t the problem, placement of the anesthetic is. For the lower jaw we try to place the anesthetic at the point where the nerve goes out of the soft tissue and into the bone. If place properly it doesn’t matter how thick the jaw is. I would guess that your mandibular foramen is a bit higher up and or farther back than average and they are just not getting the right spot. As for needle size can’t help you there, they are what they are. Much smaller diameter than the ones used for drawing blood and I assumed about the same diameter as those used for vaccination. Longer sure they have to go farther in to reach were they need to be. ---
**Author:** ![DagNation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@DagNation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DagNation)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/306 "2013-11-12T00:59:41Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > **Dagnation** , if your dentist told you to get rid of mercury fillings or that they need to be replaced every 10-20 years it was BS Thanks for the info. I thought it sounded a little suspect, but I had insurance… > [@rsat3acr](#): > > As for anesthetic, a thick jaw isn’t the problem, placement of the anesthetic is. For the lower jaw we try to place the anesthetic at the point where the nerve goes out of the soft tissue and into the bone. If place properly it doesn’t matter how thick the jaw is. I would guess that your mandibular foramen is a bit higher up and or farther back than average and they are just not getting the right spot. Is this something I should tell my next dentist? Would telling you that I have an oddly placed nerve help you treat me better? > [@rsat3acr](#): > > As for needle size can’t help you there, they are what they are. Much smaller diameter than the ones used for drawing blood and I assumed about the same diameter as those used for vaccination. Longer sure they have to go farther in to reach were they need to be. It is not the needle, it is the syringe that looks scary. I also know that the syringe is irrelevant to whatever pain the injection may cause. It just looks so medieval! Thanks for the informative answers! Dag ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/307 "2013-11-12T03:05:15Z")
[quote=“DagNation, post:306, topic:650576”] Thanks for the info. I thought it sounded a little suspect, but I had insurance… They always do. Is this something I should tell my next dentist? Would telling you that I have an oddly placed nerve help you treat me better? Couldn’t hurt to mention it. I have people tell me all the time that they have trouble getting numb. Always make sure I 'm dead on with them usually works. Also always look at their pano(the around the whole head x-ray)for location of the mandibular foramen. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/309 "2013-11-14T06:23:20Z")
> [@shoechucker](#): > > I found out later that dentists are told mercury is non-toxic Nobody is told this. You are wrong. What dentists (and the public) are _correctly_ told is that the mercury bound in solution in amalgam hasn’t been shown to be dangerous to the health of patients nor to dentists. What that has to do with your root canal getting infected is beyond me. If you need a root canal, there’s already a serious underlying problem, and it’s never 100% the case a root canal will catch everything. Jumping from that to mercury poisoning is, at best, a misguided use of anecdotal evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/310 "2013-11-14T09:35:16Z")
> [@shoechucker](#): > > I found out later that dentists are told mercury is non-toxic and some dentists did not take precautions in protecting themselves. Man, what is it with alt-med advocates and mercury? It’s like the moment the word drops, the product becomes irredeemably toxic in their eyes, regardless of the total amount or molecular structure or what tests have shown that this particular application is completely and utterly non-toxic. I got the same thing on my facebook page about vaccines a while back. I honestly don’t get it - do these people know nothing about toxicity? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/311 "2013-11-14T10:19:47Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Man, what is it with alt-med advocates and mercury? It’s like the moment the word drops, the product becomes irredeemably toxic in their eyes, regardless of the total amount or molecular structure or what tests have shown that this particular application is completely and utterly non-toxic. I got the same thing on my facebook page about vaccines a while back. I honestly don’t get it - do these people know nothing about toxicity? People aren’t taught Chemistry. ---
**Author:** ![NorahAura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9bcb4/32.png) [@NorahAura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NorahAura)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/312 "2013-11-22T19:10:29Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yes. I’ve had a bunch of root canals, and my hairline started receding in my 40s. Also, I know a guy who had root canals, and later he got cancer. And another guy who had root canals and had heart problems. Also I know this girl that had a root canal, and she was a bad driver. And someone else who at least two root canals and he was on Let’s Make a Deal, and didn’t win the grand prize. And I know several people who had root canals and don’t tip. You, sir, have the best response I have seen thus far! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/313 "2013-11-22T20:56:44Z")
> [@DagNation](#): > > Fun thread! and now I have a few questions and comments… > > When my dentist told me to get rid of the mercury fillings, and I did, did I go through all that pain and moderate co-pay for NOTHING? I knew it sounded like BS! I liked that dentist up til now. He also told me that fillings need to be replaced every 10-20 years anyway, was that BS too? This has been answered, but I’m chiming in anyway. How long fillings last depends on how big they are (and therefore how strong the remaining tooth support is), how well it was put in to start with, and whether or not you grind your teeth. If you grind your teeth (bruxism) like I do, you may have fillings that are visibly cracked. There are two things that can happen from there. One is that the fillings crumble more and fall out. The other is that because the fillings are no longer providing any strength to the tooth, a corner or half of the tooth will break off. Fillings that fall out can sometimes be replaced. When chunks of teeth break off, you’re looking at crowns, which are more expensive. So there could have been a reason for your dentist saying that some or all of your fillings should be replaced that wasn’t BS. Of course usually in these cases, the dentist mentions that you have bruxism and that you need to start sleeping with a bite guard. So either it was BS or he wasn’t explaining things completely. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/314 "2013-11-22T21:50:36Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > This has been answered, but I’m chiming in anyway. How long fillings last depends on how big they are (and therefore how strong the remaining tooth support is), how well it was put in to start with, and whether or not you grind your teeth. > > If you grind your teeth (bruxism) like I do, you may have fillings that are visibly cracked. There are two things that can happen from there. One is that the fillings crumble more and fall out. The other is that because the fillings are no longer providing any strength to the tooth, a corner or half of the tooth will break off. > > Fillings that fall out can sometimes be replaced. When chunks of teeth break off, you’re looking at crowns, which are more expensive. So there could have been a reason for your dentist saying that some or all of your fillings should be replaced that wasn’t BS. Of course usually in these cases, the dentist mentions that you have bruxism and that you need to start sleeping with a bite guard. > > So either it was BS or he wasn’t explaining things completely. you are correct about fills/fractures/crowns but as I read the post his dentist only told him to replace the “mercury” fillings. If a dentist tells you to replace a filling just because it is amalgam that is unethical. ---
**Author:** ![Ben.Stephens73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@Ben.Stephens73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben.Stephens73)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/315 "2013-12-04T01:04:37Z")
> [@ineedthetruth](#): > > Also I found this about 97% of terminal cancer patients had a root canal: > > [http://www.dailypaul.com/215716/97-of-terminal-cancer-patients-previously-had-this-dental-procedure](http://www.dailypaul.com/215716/97-of-terminal-cancer-patients-previously-had-this-dental-procedure) > > This is proof that is hard to deny. Check out this well thought out criticism of the morons claiming root canals are dangerous or cause cancer. > **[Social Media Fabrications](http://www.rootcanaltruth.com)** > > Proper Root Canal Treatment is not dangerous and does not cause cancer Like he says, 100% of those cancer patients drove a car, or have eaten vegetables in their lifetime. 90+% of gay persons have a filling. Should we say riding in a car causes cancer or fillings cause homosexuality? Definitely does not show even a shred of causality, let alone a correlation. ---
**Author:** ![JKim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/258eb7/32.png) [@JKim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKim)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/316 "2013-12-08T19:26:56Z")
> [@Ben.Stephens73](#): > > Like he says, 100% of those cancer patients drove a car, or have eaten vegetables in their lifetime. Lots of things wrong with this argument. Here’s why: % of senior population that has driven a car: over 90% (my guesstimate) % of senior population that has eaten vegetables: close to 100% % of senior population that has had at least one root canal: 20% (ish) [http://drc.hhs.gov/report/7\_8.htm](http://drc.hhs.gov/report/7_8.htm) That’s a pretty damn strong correlation if it is true that 97% of cancer patients have had a root canal. Is it true that 97% of cancer patients have had a root canal? Highly doubtful. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/317 "2013-12-08T20:10:57Z")
I have had three root canals in the last 40 years. Each required just one injection. I am 60 years old, in good health with a full head of hair and a beard. (_The hair and beard are grey, presumably caused by the root canals_.) My parents both had root canals. One lived to 82, the other to 83. (So clearly root canals mean you will live longer than average.) ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/318 "2013-12-08T22:29:17Z")
Personally, I think The Root-Canal Tumors would be a great name for a band. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/320 "2013-12-09T04:07:42Z")
Reported. ---
**Author:** ![andrewkg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e495f1/32.png) [@andrewkg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewkg)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/321 "2013-12-30T16:18:48Z")
The idea of Root Canals causing cancer is absurd. First I will lay down a logical argument, than a more scientific one. First why would the medical community allow this to happen? This is a pretty easily tested hypothesis. Second you have only mentioned “dentists” saying that they are bad have you ever heard the response to this claim from a immunologist, or an oncologist? Will dentists go through med school there specialty is neither the immune system or cancer. Third if there was any scientific proof the healthcare legal groups would jump on this so fast. Do you see where I am going? I could go on and on. Now for the more scientific. First STATISTICS? You should definitely know to be skeptical of stats. Did you ever ask how big was the sample groups? I doubt (if there even was an actual study) that it was larger than 100. So all your stats must be thrown out in this argument. Now what’s left your claim that there is deadly bacteria left within the tooth. They first pack the tooth with antibiotics then they put you on an antibiotics prescription for 10 or more days. Have you bothered to view the stats for antibiotics success rate? That come from credible sources. Possibly in some cases infected pulp (the interior of the tooth that becomes infected) is left behind but that is the fault of dentist. It seems your whole argument is one sided have you looked at the side that root canals are not all that dangerous, the thousands of volumes of peer reviewed journals, the actual medical procedure for a root canal. No I thought not just the ramblings of some crackpots. Its like saying 97% of astrology predictions are true (their not) their just broad generalizations. Again with this I could go on and on. I also did have a root canal 4 in one week on the same tooth earlier this year. I had an absence tooth with unbelievable pain. Anyway my parents (both of whom are doctors and would say the idea that root canals causing immune problems and cancer ridiculous) waited to long to take me to the hospital it got to the point where my eyes were literally swollen shut because the infection spread to my sinuses and my upper jaw. It was ridiculous how much pain I was in I could hardly stand and could not even talk to express my pain. Well then they took me to the hospital and they preformed surgery to cut out some bone and drain my sinuses a bit. After that surgery I could just barely open my left eye my face still looked like a pumpkin. Then I had the first of a four part root canal. And that night the swelling went down 10% then after the next it went down even more. See where I’m going? If I had not had the root canal I would have died. There the whole idea is just shot. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/322 "2013-12-30T19:58:10Z")
Absence makes the tooth grow sorer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576.md?page=17)