# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/383 "2015-09-04T13:08:15Z")
> [@Declanium](#): > > I guess they’re thinking that she had previously been healthy, vivacious. Then after the root canal, she started feeling fatigued and having sweats? It was the only “out of the ordinary” thing that had been in her experience - so they must have linked that to her illness. It’s great that she’s recovered in seven years time, but it sounds as if it was def an uphill battle. The fact that thru linked such serious illness with a common dental procedure is the scary thing. You realize that the root canal was due to an infection - nto the cause of an infection, right? so, your conveniently leaving out step 1 - the cause for the root canal itself. It’s long been linked that gum disease, etc is linked to potential complications with heart disease. - cite [Periodontal Disease and Heart Health](http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/periodontal-disease-heart-health) ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/384 "2015-09-04T13:09:32Z")
> [@Declanium](#): > > The bacteria getting to attack her heart valve was an “inside job,” so that’s why they blamed root canal. The infection was present from tooth and not cleaned out all the way, which I understand is difficult to do. Something’s left in there to do harm. do you have any cites or evidence that this was the cause and not just in the chain of events? Do you have any evidence to support that if she had not had the root canal, that the same thing would not have happened? ---
**Author:** ![Declanium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Declanium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declanium)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/385 "2015-09-04T13:14:32Z")
Interesting, Simster, I see your point. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/386 "2015-09-04T13:24:27Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Do you have any evidence to support that if she had not had the root canal, that the same thing would not have happened? This is the heart of the matter of course (no pun intended) Showing the bacteria present after a root canal (or any dental procedure) are the cause, the source of other health problems, that is the essential issue. The early experiments where the bacteria was transferred to animals and it actually caused the disease, that was the start of the entire scientific fight about this. Experiments and evidence that would clear the issue up, that is the only thing that actually matters. ---
**Author:** ![Declanium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Declanium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declanium)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/387 "2015-09-04T13:30:52Z")
Yes, exactly. Wish the American Dental Association or Endodontists society would run some studies. Anything I’ve seen posted is just the organization saying that there is no link between root canals and disease. Yet - no studies or research to support that??? Nothing published? Really? Since about 25 percent of US population has a root canal in history, why is it not worth it to do a study? A follow up on folks who have had a root canal 30 years ago and how they are faring today. Seems simple enough. But they haven’t done it. Which arouses my suspicion. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/388 "2015-09-04T13:33:15Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > This is the heart of the matter of course (no pun intended) > > Showing the bacteria present after a root canal (or any dental procedure) are the cause, the source of other health problems, that is the essential issue. > > The early experiments where the bacteria was transferred to animals and it actually caused the disease, that was the start of the entire scientific fight about this. Experiments and evidence that would clear the issue up, that is the only thing that actually matters. The bacteria would have been present before the root canal as well. your job is to show that the root canal caused the bacteria to do something it wasn’t already in the process of doing. or that ‘new’ bacteria was created or introduced. Calling it “bacteria from the root canal” as if the root canal procedure created/caused the bacteria itself to do someting - is misleading at best. Taking the ‘bacteria’ present from a root canal (you know, the infection that the root canal is intending to help cure WITH THE AID OF ANTIBIOTICS - and transplanting it to another and causing an infection/issue - well, what else would you expect to happen there? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/389 "2015-09-04T13:34:48Z")
> [@Declanium](#): > > Yes, exactly. Wish the American Dental Association or Endodontists society would run some studies. Anything I’ve seen posted is just the organization saying that there is no link between root canals and disease. Yet - no studies or research to support that??? Nothing published? Really? Since about 25 percent of US population has a root canal in history, why is it not worth it to do a study? A follow up on folks who have had a root canal 30 years ago and how they are faring today. Seems simple enough. But they haven’t done it. Which arouses my suspicion. Why? Do you know how many root canals are perfomed? If there was a link, you wouldn’t need to ‘do a study to find it’ - it would be obivous. (and then you would do studies, etc to help prevent or cure, etc) The FACT that there is no link suggests exactly that - that there is no link. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/390 "2015-09-04T13:41:06Z")
> [@simster](#): > > If there was a link, you wouldn’t need to ‘do a study to find it’ - it would be obivous. (and then you would do studies, etc to help prevent or cure, etc). That’s not scientific. Nor does the history of medical science support your claim. > [@simster](#): > > The FACT that there is no link suggests exactly that - that there is no link. That is a fallacy. And despote what you might think, there are studies being done all the time about these matters. > **[Endodontic medicine: connections between apical periodontitis and systemic...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26174809/)** > > The prevalence of apical periodontitis (AP) in Europe has been reported to affect 61% of individuals and 14% of teeth, and increase with age. Likewise, the prevalence of root canal treatment (RCT) in Europe is estimated to be around 30-50% of... ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/391 "2015-09-04T13:44:24Z")
> [@Declanium](#): > > Yet - no studies or research to support that??? Nothing published? Really? Actually, there are studies - [http://archotol.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1752294](http://archotol.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1752294) And they show benefits of root canals, so your statement is false. I’m sure more studies could be done, but that doesn’t mean nothing has been studied. ---
**Author:** ![Declanium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Declanium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declanium)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/392 "2015-09-04T13:44:48Z")
Again, what is the problem with the dental and endodontic associations dispelling this so-called “myth” with factual evidence, studies, etc.? Only perpetuates the theory that something is amiss with the procedure in question. ---
**Author:** ![Declanium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Declanium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declanium)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/393 "2015-09-04T13:50:09Z")
I see, Telemark. But not being a doctor, it’s difficult to interpret this. Is it just head and neck cancer in the study? Was there no link? And what anout the breast cancer, heart and kidney disease studies? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/394 "2015-09-04T13:50:13Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > That’s not scientific. Nor does the history of medical science support your claim. > That is a fallacy. > > And despote what you might think, there are studies being done all the time about these matters. > > [Endodontic medicine: connections between apical periodontitis and systemic diseases - PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26174809) If millions of X are done - and there is no indications of a followon problem due to X - you can safely say that ‘X was not the cause’. Thats called observation. If you proppse that X caused Y - then you should be able to test for that and show it. As others have already said - studies _have_ been done and no link has been found. As for your link - you’ll note that I linked to a readable article about the apparent correlation between periodontic disease and heart disease already. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/395 "2015-09-04T13:55:50Z")
> [@Declanium](#): > > Again, what is the problem with the dental and endodontic associations dispelling this so-called “myth” with factual evidence, studies, etc.? > Only perpetuates the theory that something is amiss with the procedure in question. You realize thats not how it works, right? You can’t prove a negative - you can only prove a positive - Meaning - they can prove if X casues/leads to Y - which means they would study that concept. Those combined studies - and years of ‘clincial results’ overall - would then lead you to be able to make the statement that there “are no links”. Doesn’t mean one might not eventually be found - but as of right now - there is nothing to link Root Canals to these things. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/396 "2015-09-04T14:15:42Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Doesn’t mean one might not eventually be found - but as of right now - there is nothing to link Root Canals to these things. > [@](#): > > In 1951, the Journal of the American Dental Association took the extraordinary step of publishing a special edition reviewing the scientific literature and shifted the standard of practice back to endodontic treatment for teeth with non-vital pulp in instances where the tooth could be saved. The JADA reviewed Dr. Price’s research techniques from the 1920s and noted that they lacked many aspects of modern scientific research, including absence of proper control groups and induction of excessive doses of bacteria. Read more at [Have 97 Percent of Terminal Cancer Victims Undergone Root Canals? | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/rootcanal.asp#gvzHtmOjiIWTTt3f.99) > [@](#): > > Whereas bacterial colonizations on oral mucosa also differ between healthy individuals and patients with cancer, a causal association between an oral bacterial infection and HNSCC has not been established. [http://archotol.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1752294](http://archotol.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1752294) Certainly the AMA has done a great deal to prove a negative. That there is no chance at all that a root canal causing any problems. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/397 "2015-09-04T14:16:57Z")
I’ve had a couple of root canals to “fix” damaged teeth. (One fall & an ugly pearl hiding in an oyster po’boy.) After a period of dental neglect, I finally found a dental clinic. The University of Texas Dental School offers low-care dentistry to those who need it. Those with the right insurance may be seen by the faculty–considered to be well-educated. In fact, some are the best dentists in Houston. After some serious cleaning, it was discovered that my major problem was another broken tooth. My dentist referred me to an endodontist; he checked it out & decided it was so broken that a root canal might shatter it. So we’re following it conservatively–the nerve is mostly gone. However, these real dentists “believe” in root canals. They are not mountebanks recommended by somebody who joined this board to promote ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Declanium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Declanium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declanium)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/398 "2015-09-04T14:18:54Z")
They should do due diligence then and continue to keep us informed. Seems like a rather simple thing to do too. Survey root canal patients in a follow up - 5 years out from root canal, 10 years, 15 years etc To see if they have developed any ailments. Simple. Yet nothing done. That’s where the holistic and new agey people get you. Because I question why - If the idea is out there, why not give reassurance? It’s an expensive procedure. Let’s make sure it’s a safe one ---
**Author:** ![Declanium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Declanium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declanium)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/399 "2015-09-04T14:22:12Z")
Oh, and FX, Dr. Weston Price is not the latest to disagree with the root canal thing. Dr. Meinig is more recent. Former endodontist who regrets his profession. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/400 "2015-09-04T14:22:57Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Read more at [Have 97 Percent of Terminal Cancer Victims Undergone Root Canals? | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/rootcanal.asp#gvzHtmOjiIWTTt3f.99) > > [http://archotol.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1752294](http://archotol.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1752294) > > Certainly the AMA has done a great deal to prove a negative. That there is no chance at all that a root canal causing any problems. Not sure what point you’re trying make there. The snopes link shows why you’re quoted portion ‘Dr Price’ was discredited - his theoreis and studies were thrown out as not proper.] If anything, the SNOPES link furthers the point that no links have been found. You can’t PROVE the negative - you can make the statement that all the evidence so far points that the negative is true. ('No links exist".) > [@](#): > > However, the myth of cancer-causing endodontics persists. On a page addressing root canal myths, the American Association of Endodontists explains: > The truth: There is no valid, scientific evidence linking root canal-treated teeth and disease elsewhere in the body. A root canal is a safe and effective procedure. When a severe infection in a tooth requires endodontic treatment, that treatment is designed to eliminate bacteria from the infected root canal, prevent reinfection of the tooth and save the natural tooth. > > Read more at [Myths About Root Canals - American Association of Endodontists](http://www.aae.org/patients/treatments-and-procedures/root-canals/myths-about-root-canals-and-root-canal-pain.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/401 "2015-09-04T14:24:07Z")
> [@Declanium](#): > > They should do due diligence then and continue to keep us informed. > Seems like a rather simple thing to do too. > Survey root canal patients in a follow up - > 5 years out from root canal, 10 years, 15 years etc > To see if they have developed any ailments. > Simple. Yet nothing done. That’s where the holistic and new agey people get you. > Because I question why - > If the idea is out there, why not give reassurance? > It’s an expensive procedure. Let’s make sure it’s a safe one You realize that 5- 10 - 15 years down the line, there are LOTS of changes that are going to go on. I had a root canal 30 years ago - and a couple within the past couple of years - I don’t have cancer. What does that prove for you? ---
**Author:** ![Declanium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Declanium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declanium)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/402 "2015-09-04T14:26:46Z")
And to Bridget Burke, I’m not in here to promote ignorance. Or profit! Because I’m not a holistic dentist!!! I’ve got a family history of a lot of things that these root canals have been linked with - So I’m checking things out on my own. Since the AAE won’t do it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576.md?page=21)