Is a Root Canal Dangerous?

What Is Root Canal Therapy?

Root canal therapy is also known as endodontic treatment, and it is a common dental procedure to remove infection from inside a tooth. It involves the removal of the infected pulp and nerve in the root of the tooth, and the cleaning and shaping of the inside of the root canal.

What Is a Toxic Root Canal?

After root canal therapy, miles of smaller tubules that lead from the central nerve canal remain untreated. Oftentimes, debris collects and becomes infected which results in the production of toxic gasses which can lead to chronic infections and serious illness.

What Are Toxic Root Canal Symptoms?

• Toxic root canal symptoms include:
• Sensitivity when biting down
• Tooth discoloration
• Tender gum tissue
• Tooth pain
• Pus-filled abscesses near the treated tooth
• Facial or neck swelling
• Sensitivity to tapping and pressure
• Chronic infection

Keep in mind that these symptoms vary, and may manifest immediately after your procedure or lay dormant for years, slowly wreaking havoc on your overall health.

What Are the Dangers of Root Canal Therapy?

There is an ongoing battle regarding endodontic treatment for saving broken-down, dying, dead, or infected teeth. The problem is, within a tooth there are many miles of lateral dentinal tubules, outside of the main canals, which remain unfilled, after the procedure.

These are extremely small microscopic dentinal highway systems that act like modern day freeways that function to carry nutrients and minerals into and or out of your teeth. It’s called the Dentinal Fluid Transport System, or DFTS for short.

These odontoblastic tubules (lateral canals) can harbor bacteria and their toxic end-products can cause an infective process to stay active and smolder for many years.

These bacterial endo-toxins can then enter the systemic arterial circulation and cause the release of cytokine modulators which can increase inflammation in every organ system in your body. This is not good news! This is one of the drivers for chronic bodily systemic inflammation.

According to some very credible sources:

• American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M)
• International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology (IAOMT)
• Holistic Dental Association (HDA)
• American College of Integrative Medicine and Dentistry (ACIMD)
• International Academy of Biological Dentistry & Medicine (IABDM)
• Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)
• The International College of Integrative Medicine (ICIM)

Root Canal Therapy (RCT) is considered a procedure that should never be performed under any circumstance or for any reason, once a tooth is dead.

Differing Perspectives

Can a tooth be filled internally and remain uninfected years after the inside of the pulp canals have been filled? There are opposing views from biological dentistry and establishment dentistry.

On one hand, the biological dentistry camp concludes that there is no way that infection will not occur following endodontic treatment, as the tooth becomes an intra-oral septic tank.

On the other hand, the establishment-dentistry camp argues that metals and toxins in your mouth have no ill effects and that there is nothing to worry about.

Despite the ADA’s claims that RCT is safe, it is important for patients to educate themselves on the risks of endodontic treatment, including the blockage of the meridian systems within each of the teeth and their connections to different organ systems. Breast cancer is one example of this connection.

Meridian Tooth Chart

Your teeth are like tiny batteries, with on-off switches, and when they become infected, the voltage in that circuit drops, and healing is delayed. Healing is related to proper cellular voltage.

Humans are electrically-charged beings as well as biochemically-designed organisms. Organized dentistry and medicine have yet to fully embrace nor even understand this concept.

Anterior teeth have simpler root canal systems while molars have very complicated root canal systems with multiple canals. This makes molar teeth more difficult to fill and much easier to fail, in the end. If the pulp becomes inflamed, necrotic or gangrenous, it means that the voltage in that tooth and surrounding periapical region has dropped to the point where no further healing can take place. The affected tooth at this point needs to be removed properly, by a biologically-trained dentist or oral surgeon.

Also, during tooth removal, the periodontal ligament needs to be removed, the socket properly scraped, cleaned, and ozonated. Then, a simple stem cell procedure called Protein Rich Fibrin (PRF) should be performed, as this supports the bone and ridge preservation, before implant, bridge, or removable partial denture placement.

At this juncture, we also recommend supplementation with ConcenTrace® Trace Mineral Drops and Silidyn Rejuvenate to increase voltage and to expedite proper healing.

The Bottom Line: Who Is Correct About Root Canals?

If you have a well-placed root canal by an endodontist or a well-trained general dentist, have an X-ray taken or a CB-CT scan done to evaluate the end of the root, for infection. Discuss the findings with a biological dentistry office. Discuss your toxic root canal symptoms as well!

If your immune system is not compromised, root canal treatment might be a viable option, but only if you use ozone therapy, and continue using ozone indefinitely.

If you want to save your tooth, or you must save your tooth, it may be absolutely necessary to get Root Canal Therapy. Make sure that you understand the risks associated with this treatment. Remember, anterior teeth are easier to treat than your back teeth because their root canal systems are not as complex!

If your present root canal is infected, have it removed properly by a biological dentistry specialist, and discuss the alternatives, which include:

• Implant placement crown
• Porcelain bridge construction
• Flexible removable partial denture

What Is the Evidence?

The following articles by Dr. Mercola provide additional information regarding the aforementioned concepts.

• Why You Should Avoid Root Canals Like the Plague
• How a Root Canal Could Be Making You Sick

What Are the Alternatives to Root Canal Therapy?

If you have weighed all of your choices and have opted for the removal of your infected, failed root canal(s), then you have several viable options for tooth replacement at your disposal.

1. A ceramic dental implant: also referred to as a zirconium implant. Upon successful osseous integration of this implant you will need to complete the process with a non-metal or all-ceramic crown. If there is any question as to whether you have any allergy responses to dental materials, a biocompatibility test should be performed ahead of any treatment.
2. A fixed-cementable all-ceramic bridge: commonly called a fixed bridge. This type of prosthesis is only recommended if the teeth on either side of the extraction site or sites, have existing porcelain-fused-to metal crowns or have extreme wear and tear or are teeth that have current decay and/or large fillings that are questionable.
3. A flexible nylon-based RPD: also known as a removable partial denture. If you decide that you do not want to insert an implant into your jaw or crown the teeth on either side of the space then this may be your best choice. These are removable and can be taken out for cleaning or for adjustment. They are considerably less expensive than the first two options and you can always opt to put in an implant or a cementable bridge at a later date, even years down the road.
4. Do nothing: there are instances where leaving the space with no prosthesis may be desirable, and perhaps even advantageous. You should find a biological dentist whom you can talk to and one whom you can trust.

Ultimately, the decision to proceed, with or without root canal therapy, is yours. The advice of our holistic and biological dentists is to avoid root canal therapy, especially if your health is compromised in any way.

If you have any questions or concerns, or if you are interested in holistic dentistry alternatives, contact Dr. Thom Lokensgard’s office.

Centre for Holistic and Biological Dentistry

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