Every year, some 25 million Americans and countless more people worldwide undergo a dental procedure that they’re told is simple and safe.

A root canal is anything but.

We now know that a host of chronic degenerative diseases are linked to root-canaled teeth, from heart and circulatory diseases to diseases of the joints, brain, and nervous system.

Sadly, that was known some 100 years ago—but this is one of those unfortunate cases where the medical-dental establishment has long denied or discounted the evidence—to this very day.

Side Effects Of Root Canal Treatment

In the early 1900s, pioneering dentist Dr. Westin A. Price began researching the connection between root-canaled teeth and chronic illness. He’d performed countless root canals and treated thousands of infections—throughout the body. (He also studied the link between nutrition and dental health, more on this later.)

A root canal is intended to remove bacteria-infected root tissue from deep inside an affected tooth, which is then presumed “dead” and the root area (canal) is permanently sealed off. Standard practice is to leave the now “harmless” tooth in place to prevent shifting of other teeth or the need for a replacement.

The problem is, it’s impossible to remove all of the infected tissue. What you get is a bacterial “breeding battleground,” where a few formerly friendly bacteria mutate into nasty new strains that carry potent toxins. And if these toxins get into your bloodstream, they can attack your organs or other healthy tissue.

Early Proof of the Dental-Degenerative Disease Link

To test his hypothesis that dental bacteria can cause illness anywhere in the body, Dr. Price implanted a removed root-canaled tooth in a lab animal.

And bingo!

If the “tooth donor” had heart disease, the animal got heart disease. Kidney or joint problems? Same outcome. Whatever the tooth donor’s disease, the animal got it from the root-canaled tooth. No exceptions.

Amazingly, there’s more.

Dr. Price had a wheelchair-using arthritis patient who had undergone a root canal. So, to test another component of his hypothesis, he had his patient’s root-canaled tooth extracted and implanted in a lab rabbit.

The rabbit, as expected, developed the same arthritis as the patient.

However, not quite as expected, the woman, with her toxic tooth removed, recovered from her arthritis and was able walk without even a cane.

No wonder Dr. Westin Price is considered by many to be the greatest dentist ever.

Modern Science Confirms the Link

Today, DNA-based studies have found bacterial contamination in 100 percent of the root canal samples tested. One study identified 67 different species of mutated bacteria. Among them…

• Four can damage your heart
• Three can cause nerve damage
• Two can compromise your kidney function
• Two can affect your brain
• One can cause sinus infection

It’s probably safe to assume there are effects we aren’t fully aware of yet. For example.

Does Root Canal Cause Cancer?

Researcher Dr. Robert Jones found a very strong connection between the two in a five-year study of 300 breast cancer cases.

His findings were frightening, to say the least:

• 93 percent of women with breast cancer had a history of root canal
• 7 percent had some other sort of oral pathology
• In more than 50 percent of cases, tumors occurred on the same side of the body as the root canal(s) or other oral pathology

Dr. Jones found that the toxins created by bacteria in an infected tooth, or in adjoining bone, can cripple your immune system’s tumor-suppressing proteins.

A German physician, Dr. Josef Issels, reported findings alarmingly similar. In 40 years of treating terminal cancer patients, 97 percent had a history of root canal.

What Are The Alternatives To Root Canal?

I hope you floss and brush your teeth regularly. That dramatically improves your chances of getting a clean bill of health every time you visit your dentist.

But what if he or she gives you news that’s not so good?

One option is to perform a traditional root canal and leave the tooth behind, hoping that your immune system will destroy any toxic bacteria that escape the root canal site

Another option is to simply remove the damaged tooth, which leaves you with these options:

• A partial denture, aka a “flipper,” is a lightweight, removable plastic or porcelain replica of the removed tooth. It’s secured in place by wires that wrap around two real teeth on either side of the removed tooth, and is the simplest and least costly choice.
• A bridge is a more permanent fixture that resembles your real tooth, made of porcelain, porcelain fused to metal (resin-bonded) or plastic, with metal or porcelain “wings” bonded to your existing teeth on each side of the removed tooth site. Not as simple as a denture, and more expensive.
• An implant is a permanent artificial tooth, anchored by a metal post implanted in your jawbone to which your replacement tooth is attached. In 3–6 months, your jawbone grows around the anchor and holds it in place. When the anchor is well attached, the artificial tooth (crown) is cemented to the anchor.

Please work with your dentist to decide which option is best for you.

In the meantime, your most effective preventative is to eat a healthy diet, rich in vitamins and minerals, brush and floss daily and make sure you get to the dentist’s office for an exam at least once a year.

Last Updated: June 24, 2021
Originally Published: February 11, 2015