One of the most common questions I get asked as a holistic dentist is what is wrong with root canal treatment?
January 28, 2021
Without going into a lot of detail, I’ll try and explain it as I do with patients that come to see me. These patients often have an infected tooth and are looking for the best option to treat the tooth.
First, let’s look at why a tooth may require root canal treatment in the first place.
The most common reason a tooth requires a root canal treatment is because the pulp is infected. The pulp is the tissue within your tooth that is comprised of:
The most common cause of an infected pulp is bacterial infection from caries (decay).
When a pulp becomes infected, a periodontal infection (abscess) is formed at the end of the root of the tooth. As the abscess swells, it may create more pain within the area.
When a tooth has a periodontal abscess there are only 2 ways to treat this infection. That is, to treat the source of the infection, which is the infected pulp. This can be done 2 ways which include:
Root canal treatment involves removing the infected pulpal tissue, cleaning, and sterilizing the dental canal (s). Following this, your canals will be filled with a rubber-based material to physically block the canals from further bacterial invasion. The tooth is usually crowned afterwards as root canalled teeth become brittle due to lack of fluid in the tooth. Therefore, your affected tooth may have a greater chance of fracturing.
Root canal treatment is the only way an infected tooth can remain in the mouth. Obviously, having an extraction means removing the tooth entirely and then having to possibly replace the tooth.
The reality of root canal treatment however, is that although dentists can clean and sterilize the main dental canal quite well, the root of the tooth is not solid. It contains miles of microscopic tubules that lead from the main canal to the edge of the root and these tubules also contain bacteria.
However, due to the microscopic size of these tubules, it is impossible to sterilize them. This leaves bacteria left in the root which may lead to another infection. In addition, the bacteria may also release toxins into the bone surrounding the root.
Research suggests that there are many different types bacteria that have been isolated from root canalled teeth (1). Some of these may be directly related to cardiovascular disease (2) .
So there may be a direct link between root canal treatment and heart disease. Just like there may be a direct link between periodontal disease (gum disease) and cardiovascular disease, which the medical fraternity readily acknowledge.
Some cardiologists in the US like Dr Thomas Levy will not see you as a patient unless all of your root canal treated teeth are removed prior. Dr Thomas Levy further explains in his root canal treatment video.
Another issue with root canalled teeth is the fact that when the pulp of the tooth dies, a short circuit occurs in the energy pathway that the particular tooth is in. This creates an electrical imbalance in that pathway, potentially influencing other areas of the body in the same pathway.
Dr Jerry Tennant from the US explains within an article that our muscles are essentially piezoelectric rechargeable batteries. Piezoelectric occurs when you distort something and it emits electrons. Similar to when you squeeze a piece of quartz with pliers.
This is relevant to what happens to muscles in your body. Every time they move, they generate electrons. Furthermore, our muscles also act as rechargeable batteries as they are also able to store these electrons.
Dr Jerry further explains that our muscles are stacked together in a specific order, surrounded by the white sheath of fascia. The fascia is the connective tissue which is found under our skin (3). The fascia is arranged within our body so that electrons can flow through them. Essentially, this acts as a semiconductor but the electrons may only flow in one direction within our body.
As the muscles are stacked closely together and emerged in fascia, this forms a type of wiring system within our body. Therefore, every organ within our body has its own battery pack.
Dr Jerry also states that as an embryo is developing, our brain is the first thing that begins to form then the circuits go downwards throughout our body. As they pass through our body, they pass through specific teeth. Therefore, our teeth begin an important part of every circuit within our body.
In relation to an infected tooth, he claims. “If you have an infection within your tooth and you are putting a circuit in there you can evaluate how the infection reacts as a resistor and drop the voltage. If an infection extends around a tooth, it will eventually move into the bone around it. This may short the circuit out completely as the infection passes through the bone which may cause the polarity to flip.”
In addition to Dr Thomas Levy and Dr Jerry Tennant, I would also recommend looking at Dr Weston Price’s work on root canal treated teeth and the direct correlation between root canalled teeth and degenerative diseases. By implanting root canalled teeth into rabbits, whatever disease the patient had, the rabbit would develop the same disease. He also found that root canalled teeth were always infected regardless if they were symptomatic or not symptomatic.
As I always tell my patients, the choice of keeping an infected tooth by doing root canal treatment is purely their choice, but I feel they must at least be aware of the general health implications of doing so.
If you would like to know more about our root canal treatments or holistic health services, please contact our team on 07 5644 6000. Alternatively, you can book an appointment online 24/7.
For more information, you can watch more from Dr. Thomas Levy or visit his professional profile.
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