Many adults have root canals every day. But what if those procedures may be resulting in long-term health issues down the road?
According to Dr Mercola, many of them are. In particular, Mercola points to the research of Dr Robert Kulacz, who has noted that often the bacteria that leads to the original root canal often remains even after the procedure – which can result in nasty complications later.
As a result, Kulacz no longer performs root canals. He stopped in 1995.
While the American Dental Association continues to say root canals are safe, Kulacz says that’s simply not true.
“If a patient is informed that these root canal teeth remain infected; that bacteria can indeed travel to other sites in the body, and that bacteria in root canal teeth and the surrounding bone release potent toxins, then the patient can decide to have a root canal or not,” he says.
According to the ADA, any remaining bacteria will be “entombed” within that tooth, but that’s not true either.
The gutta-percha, the filling material used to seal the canal, is not getting into the tiny lateral canals that branch off the main canal, so leakage is almost always possible, especially since the tooth is porous; even a perfectly sealed root canal cannot prevent the small molecule exotoxins produced by the bacteria inside the root canal tooth from easily migrating out of the tooth and into the body.
Because teeth are more like sponges than solid structures, they’re perfect for harboring bacteria.
And, as a result, that bacteria can often cause problems later – as the bacteria move to other places in the body especially.
Other research has shown pathogenic bacteria from infected root canals destroy or kill the white blood cells designed to eliminate them, which is why the surrounding jaw bone can harbor such chronic infection.
The bacteria can also evade your immune system by:
- Bacterial mimicry; mimicking your body’s own bacteria, which your white blood cells will not attack
- Disabling your antibodies and white blood cells
- Forming sticky biofilms
Check out the video below from Dr Mercola to learn more:
