# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/81 "2013-02-17T18:21:24Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > I had root canal on a dead, but not infected tooth, nearly 50 years ago. Aside from the slight discoloration, it has not given me any identifiable trouble since. > > I’ve had a few minor health problems, but they seem to have had causes other than that tooth. > > People I’ve known with tooth infections who have had root canal, were miserable before hand and miserable for a period after as well. > > Medical types might know if some sort of systemic and lasting infection can be a result of an infected tooth. I’ve had one for 20 years due to food poisoning. Discolored? That seems like a hidden infection maybe. What health problems do you have? I’m at work and will be back later. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/82 "2013-02-17T18:21:24Z")
> [@ineedthetruth](#): > > I am headed to bed. I will provide some links tomorrow. Implants I do not like the idea of cutting a hole in my jaw and putting in a foreign object. This is a autoimmune reaction waiting to happen. It’s not if…it’s when. > > Anyways I will provide some links tomorrow. I have plenty of evidence to back this up. Im too sleepy right now. Rest assured I will back tomorrow with plenty of links 🙂 Have a good night guys. Do you even know what an “autoimmune reaction” is? What _kind_ of cancer do you think it’s going to cause? The worst thing about a root canal? It’s long, so I got bored, and my jaw got sore from being open for so long. But the most painful part was the needle used to inject novocaine. Here’s a tip: don’t ask a question if you’re not prepared to have people disagree with you. People have dental implants all the freaking time, and don’t die of cancer. (If dental implants caused, hockey players would be dropping like flies) Doctors “cut holes in our bodies and implant foreign objects” all the time. Joint replacements. Pacemakers. Blood transfusions. None, as far as I know, cause cancer. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/83 "2013-02-17T18:35:24Z")
> [@ineedthetruth](#): > > This is proof that is hard to deny. > [@ineedthetruth](#): > > It’s hard to deny the proof. I see no proof to say they are not dangerous. > [@ineedthetruth](#): > > Look at all of the evidence. Price implanted root canal tooths into rabbits and they got the same illness etc. He did this with thousands of rabbits. This is only the beginning of the proof. > [@ineedthetruth](#): > > There is so much evidence to support this. > [@ineedthetruth](#): > > I have plenty of evidence to back this up. You keep using those words (“evidence” and “proof”). I don’t think they mean what you think they do. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/84 "2013-02-17T19:23:15Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > And since this is how the OP thinks I will simply make this reference: “uuhh, Bon-jour?!” And it’s **Mr. Miskatonic** for the win! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/85 "2013-02-17T19:31:24Z")
> [@ineedthetruth](#): > > Discolored? I’m at work and will be back later. Please don’t rush on our account. We’ll survive. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/86 "2013-02-17T19:31:29Z")
If you think root canals are so scary, wait until you learn the truth about [DHMO](http://www.dhmo.org/). The evidence is every bit as compelling … ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/87 "2013-02-17T20:00:04Z")
> [@Twoflower](#): > > If you think root canals are so scary, wait until you learn the truth about [DHMO](http://www.dhmo.org/). The evidence is every bit as compelling … Oh god! Your teeth come into contact with it, every single day. It’s everywhere, in our food, in our atmosphere, everywhere! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/88 "2013-02-17T20:01:30Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > People I’ve known with tooth infections who have had root canal, were miserable before hand and miserable for a period after as well. My mom had a root-canaled tooth removed the other day. It got infected, she felt it. She did not die of cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/89 "2013-02-17T20:02:58Z")
Damn, teeth suck. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/90 "2013-02-17T20:23:25Z")
> [@ineedthetruth](#): > > Discolored? That seems like a hidden infection maybe. What health problems do you have? I’m at work and will be back later. discolored is from the trauma, blood into the tooth similar to a bruise but since the tooth dies and there is no more circulation some stays causing a darkening of the tooth, I see it all the time in my practice. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/91 "2013-02-17T20:45:05Z")
I had a root canal about a year and a half ago… and I woke up kind of feeling groggy and sluggish today. Why oh why didn’t I just have that tooth pulled!? ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/92 "2013-02-17T20:58:27Z")
My grandfather had a root canal in the 40s, it was a brand new procedure at the time. He lived to be 92. And still had that tooth. I had a root canal in 2003, and later that same year met the man I’m still with 10 years later. Therefore, I believe that root canals extend your lifespan and are conducive to falling in love. How can you argue with the evidence? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/93 "2013-02-17T21:35:03Z")
I had my wisdom teeth pulled…_right before I became paralyzed!!_ :eek::eek: oh wait… ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/94 "2013-02-18T00:06:33Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I had my wisdom teeth pulled…_right before I became paralyzed!!_ :eek::eek: > oh wait… I hate myself for laughing at that. **INeedTruth** What is that convinces you, in the face of skepticism and mountains of evidence, that root canals are so bad? ---
**Author:** ![doubleminus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@doubleminus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doubleminus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/95 "2013-02-18T02:09:18Z")
Could it be that the OP has a more serious condition ? An abscess that started to infect his brain ? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/96 "2013-02-18T02:40:45Z")
You have demonstrated that you don’t have a good understanding of what a root canal is. Therefore it is not possible to have an intelligent conversation with you about it. My dentist says I have freakishly healthy teeth. But I had to have a root canal due to trauma to the tooth which happened when I was a child. Last year I had to have it redone. It wasn’t fun but it beats having a huge infection inches from my brain eating into the bone. Ymmv. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/97 "2013-02-18T02:46:37Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > My dentist says I have freakishly healthy teeth. But I had to have a root canal How can someone with “freakishly healthy” teeth need a root canal in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/98 "2013-02-18T03:15:40Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > How can someone with “freakishly healthy” teeth need a root canal in the first place? What he said – due to trauma to the tooth. That means the tooth got bumped, which can physically injure the roots, possibly leading to needing root canal therapy. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/99 "2013-02-18T03:40:33Z")
My favourite part of the OP’s first cite was this: [QUOTE=The Mercola Guy] As recently as 1906, Mayo Clinic in conjunction with Weston Price DDS, MS as head of research for the dental association of that time, announced that root canals were a haven for disease-producing bacteria. [/QUOTE] Holy shit! As recently as 1906! That’s a mere 107 years ago! It’s the cutting edge in medical research! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576/100 "2013-02-18T04:13:31Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > What he said – due to trauma to the tooth. That means the tooth got bumped, which can physically injure the roots, possibly leading to needing root canal therapy. Yeah but he said he suffered that trauma when he was a child, so he’s had the dental conditions that ultimately led to the need for root canal therapy for basically his entire life. That seems incongruous with the description of having “freakishly healthy teeth”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-root-canals-really-toxic/650576.md?page=6)