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ROOT CANALS, NETFLIX, AND THE SCIENCE OF BAD TV

by Dr. Mark Pasternak

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There is a recent Netflix documentary entitled “Root Cause”.  In this documentary, it is postulated that root canals are responsible for systemic illnesses like heart disease, cancers, arthritis, and others.

The Evidence

The bulk of the evidence is attributed to three doctors. These are the individuals the producers of the documentary are hanging their hats on.


Dr. Weston Price

Dr. Price was a Canadian dentist known primarily for his theories relating to nutrition, dental health, and physical health.  He treated a wheelchair-bound woman who a root canal treated tooth.  When the tooth was extracted, the woman got better.  This case was treated in 1900 (not a typo).  His book outlining his theories was released in 1922.  His theories were debunked beginning in the 1930s, primarily because his experimental method and resulting data were found to be extremely flawed.


Dr. Hal Huggins
Dr. Huggins was at the center of the amalgam filling controversy.  He created the Huggins Diagnostic Center in Colorado Springs to study mercury toxicity and its impact on human health. In 1995 the center was closed amidst a series of lawsuits claiming negligence and fraud.  In 1996 his dental license was revoked for gross negligence and use of unnecessary and unproven procedures.


Dr. Boyd Haley
Dr. Haley is a retired professor of chemistry at the University of Kentucky.  He states that mercury exposure from amalgam fillings and vaccinations may cause autism and Alzheimer’s disease.  He has appeared in court to testify against vaccine manufacturers.  However, his testimony was not accepted on the basis that his “ lack of expertise in genetics, epidemiology, and child neurology make it impossible for him to supply the necessary factual basis to support his testimony.”

He developed a product claiming in it would remove heavy metals and improve autism symptoms.  The FDA forced the removal of the product on the basis that there was no scientific data to support the claim and because of suspected safety issues as well.

Digging Deeper

I also decided to look into some of the claims made in the documentary.


97% of patients with breast cancer had a root canal on the same side as the cancer.” 

At the time of writing this article, I was not able to find a single item of scientific evidence to support the claim.  This is the same as saying 100% of cancer patients drink water.


“The #1 cause of heart attack is root canal treated teeth.”


No, it is not smoking, diet, lack of exercise, obesity, genetics, but root canals.  There has been a study called the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging published in the International Endodontic Journal in 2016.  It concluded that untreated abscessed teeth do contribute to an increase in risk for cardiovascular disease.  However, evidence to suggest the treatment (root canal procedures) is a contributing factor is non-existent at this time.


The movie goes on to discuss “cavitations” in the jaw under root canaled teeth and in the area of extracted teeth.  The theory is that chronic inflammation in these areas can lead to systemic disease.  This theory was studied in two separate studies.  


The studies showed elevated levels of proteins which contribute to inflammation in the body.  However, even the authors conclude that…”A comprehensive understanding of the complex networks outlined in this paper will require further research”.


Both studies had very limited samples, and the same researchers wrote both.  While this casts doubt on the validity of the conclusions, I do believe inflammation in our bodies is a significant contributor to systemic disease, and more research is required to draw any meaningful conclusions.


Documentaries such as this always have an agenda.  Making money is first on the list. The surest way to make money is the inflame peoples passions and make them afraid.  So what they did was find three doctors from the past and hold them up as bastions of evidenced-based medicine.  They used science from 120 years ago as evidence for today.  Would you ask your surgeon to use techniques and tools from 120 years ago? I know I wouldn’t.


So please, if you have questions or concerns after seeing the documentary, or talking with family, friends, or co-workers about it, talk to your dentist.  Or send me an email (dr.pasternak@etobicokedentalcare.com).  But don’t pull out your teeth because they have a root canal or they need a root canal!  


 

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