Root Canal Therapy Myths

Author: Dr. David Dickerhoff, DDS, MAGD, FOCOI

I recently had a patient interaction in which I was recommending root canal therapy for a tooth that was having symptoms. The patient balked at my recommendation because she said that she had been monitoring the internet and that she had read that root canal therapy could potentially be a contributing factor for further pathology. It was one of the first times that a patient had challenged me with this belief, so I headed off to a convenient search engine to see what I could find.  

In the advent of dental implants as a replacement for missing teeth, the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Association of Endodontists (AAE),(root canal doctors) had taken a position of always weighing the pros and cons of extracting a tooth as opposed to undergoing root canal therapy. Their bottom line was to err on the side of keeping natural teeth whenever possible. Root canal therapy had been shown to be successful therapy in over ninety percent of reviewed literature. There certainly are times when extraction and implant or prosthetic replacement is indicated, but having those discussions with your care provider is always the best advice.

The Associated Press (4/18, Marcelo) examined a claim made in a video posted on Facebook that “the number one cause of heart attacks is a tooth treated for a root canal.”  The AP said, “There’s no credible scientific evidence that having a root canal can cause a heart attack, according to endodontists,” and ”cardiologists confirm this as well.” The article reported that the “video references a 2019 documentary called ‘Root Cause’, which argues that root canals are linked to several medical issues. The AAE, ADA, and the American Association of Dental Research “publicly criticized” the documentary and “wrote to Netflix that its central claim had been ‘disproven by decades’ worth of peer-reviewed, scientific evidence.”

I love talking with my patients at Spring Lake Dental Group about what, why, how and how much. There are so many factors that go into treatment recommendations. Talk to us and bring your questions. We always have time to improve the quality of care that we are providing.