Full Transcript Root canals and why they raise concern 0:00 If you've already had a root canal, do you need to be worried? 0:03 Let's talk about this. 0:05 So as a dentist of nearly 29 years now, I have seen a lot about root canals. 0:12 I performed hundreds of them myself before I really started researching and finding out what is going on inside of that tooth. 0:21 So let's get really down to the bottom line here. 0:24 What would I do if I had a tooth that had a root canal in my own mouth? 0:30 Or what would I do if this were my husband or my child? 0:32 And honestly, those situations may be a little different. 0:35 First, let's talk about why this is even a potential concern. 0:38 Root canals are a great invention. 0:41 You're able to still continue chewing with your tooth, smiling with your tooth. 0:45 It's amazing. 0:46 The root canal procedure removes the nerve and the blood vessels of the tooth, disinfects the inside, and then seals it all up. 0:53 So the tooth is able to stay there and continue functioning. 0:56 But what isn't really talked about is that it's a dead tooth now. 1:00 There's no life. 1:02 The nerve has been removed. 1:03 The blood vessels have been removed. 1:05 So there's no blood flow. 1:06 There's no lymphatic flow. 1:08 So it means no immune cells can get to take care of anything inside of that tooth. 1:13 And the little known fact is that inside of that tooth, there's literally a mile of tiny tubes. 1:19 Now, every dentist knows this. 1:20 We were taught this first year of dental school. 1:23 Those little tubes called dentional tubules have little extensions of those nerves and blood vessels. 1:29 This is why when you tap your tooth, you can feel it because there's little nerve extensions going all the way out to the outside of the tooth. 1:35 It's impossible to clean and remove all of those little tiny nerve and blood vessel extensions. 1:41 Again, dentists know this as well. 1:43 When we fill a root canal tooth, we fill the main canal. 1:48 But there's no way we're able to clean and fill all those tiny little tubes that extend off of that main canal.
How a root canal tooth can become a dead space 1:55 That's where the problem lies. 1:57 Because now this dead tooth that has no blood flow, no immune cells can get inside of it, has dead tissue inside. 2:04 What does that mean? 2:05 Well, eventually the body figures this out. 2:07 Bacteria find this dead tissue and start to congregate. 2:11 I like to think of it as having parties. 2:12 They start to have parties and now your immune system or the police force have to come and constantly quiet that party down. 2:21 Well, now that's your body working really hard to deal with this nonstop party going on. 2:26 Eventually something else goes on. 2:28 There's a robbery across town and the police have to go, okay, one car can stay here, but the rest of us, we have to go over here. 2:35 Now, the one car that's left around the tooth is not enough to keep that party down, and those bacteria start to spread. 2:41 They start to eat away bone around the end of the tooth. 2:44 Now, every time you bite on that tooth, you're sending infection throughout the entire body. 2:49 That's spreading everywhere, and some places in the body are particularly prone to getting infected by these kinds of bugs. 2:56 The heart in general, the entire circulatory system is really at risk for those kinds of bacteria as are joints. 3:04 So these are things that we have to be concerned about. 3:07 So what would I do if I already had one? 3:10 Would I have that tooth removed to get rid of the risk of this potential ongoing infection and immune system just distraction in my body? 3:20 Well, let's talk through me individually specifically. 3:24 I've actually had a lot of health concerns over the last few years. 3:27 I had challenges with mercury. 3:29 I've consistently struggled with gut health problems with a lot of food sensitivities. 3:35 And honestly, I'm always teetering on the edge of being well or not. 3:41 And I work so hard at it. 3:44 So for me, the last thing I would need is one more thing that might tip me over the edge.
Health risks and when removal may be best 3:51 So if I had a root canal tooth in my mouth, I would be in my surgeon's chair tomorrow and that tooth would be out. 3:57 Now why am I so ready to say that? 4:00 Well, I know my health situation. 4:03 I know that I really don't have some extra resources or extra reserve to give. 4:10 and I have a lot at stake. 4:12 You know, I really need to continue being able to function as I am. 4:16 I also have watched and placed hundreds of ceramic dental implants. 4:22 I know how successful they are. 4:24 If my tooth had to be removed, I would have a new tooth in there with six to seven months or so. 4:29 And I would live with it in the meantime. 4:31 Nobody loves to live without a tooth, but I would do it if I had to. 4:34 That's my own personal situation. 4:36 Now, how about my son, who's never had any health concerns? 4:40 He's 20 years old. 4:42 He's, you know, healthy as a horse. 4:44 What would we do in that situation? 4:46 Well, again, I would consider his medical issues. 4:49 I would say, okay, Is he healthy? 4:52 Can he have the immune strength needed to keep that tooth happy and healthy, to keep those bacteria, you know, that party of bacteria really down? 5:02 Well, actually, if we want to get real specific, he had surgeries when he was very, very young. 5:06 He was born very prematurely. 5:08 and he had surgeries. 5:09 One in particular was because his heart wasn't completely formed. 5:13 Remember I talked about bacteria from root canals love hearts. 5:17 There is no way I would let that root canal stay in his head even though he was healthy. 5:22 Can you see why? 5:24 Because of heart health. 5:25 So this is the question you need to ask yourself individually. 5:29 What is my overall health? 5:31 What is my overall health risk? 5:34 Do I have a predisposition to heart disease, to autoimmune conditions, to joint issues? 5:42 Are these things that are in my family history? 5:44 Have I had a family member who's had Alzheimer's? 5:48 The brain is another place that these bacteria love to go. 5:51 If any of those things were on my list, I would absolutely take that tooth out. 5:57 If you are my 19 year old daughter and you just had this tooth knocked when you were 11, let's say, you know, on a bike and no health concerns at all, 6:07 nothing going on, completely healthy, no food sensitivities, no autoimmune disease, then what I would do in your situation is I would take a cone beam 6:18 CT scan today. 6:19 I would look at it and I would say, I see no infection building up in your bone. 6:23 And a cone beam CT scan is really the only way to clearly see this. 6:27 I see no infection building up in your bone. 6:28 Okay, daughter, we're going to take another cone beam CT scan in two years time.
Personalized decisions, monitoring, and replacement options 6:34 We're going to recheck it. 6:35 We're going to see what it looks like. 6:36 But in the meantime, if you feel like you have fatigue that's unexplained, if you have hormone issues that are unexplained, 6:44 if you have sinus problems, if you have any sort of autoimmune triggers or food sensitivities, we are going to get back to this tooth immediately and look 6:54 at it because it might be that your immune system is overwhelmed and that tooth isn't able to be cared for. 7:00 If you don't, then we check it in two years, we say, ah, looks great on an x-ray, medical history, looks great, no symptoms, 7:05 no problem. 7:06 And you may feel entirely comfortable moving forward, just keeping your immune system strong, adding oregano oil, adding garlic, 7:14 adding things that are immune builders. 7:16 This is a very personal conversation. 7:19 So I, as a dentist, cannot tell you that I recommend every single root canal tooth be removed because that's not true. 7:25 For me, that is not true. 7:27 It is very personal and very specific to your health situation, your current health concerns, your predispositions, whether it's genetic or environmental, 7:35 things that you may be prone to. 7:38 We take all of that into consideration and then you get the decision. 7:41 You get to decide if it stays there and you keep chewing and smiling with it or if it's going to be removed. 7:47 Rest assured, however, that there are ways to replace this tooth. 7:51 If you choose to have it removed, we can absolutely replace this with a ceramic dental implant in most cases. 7:57 Sometimes there's literally no bone. 7:59 We have to offer you some other options. 8:01 but this is how I would handle it. 8:03 So don't be afraid. 8:05 If you've had a root canal, take a minute, breathe, and step back far enough to say, what does my health look like? 8:14 Do I feel like I can handle this right now? 8:17 Can I take things that support my immune system? 8:20 Am I going to be okay? 8:21 And can I watch it closely enough? 8:23 Am I in tune enough to my health that I can watch this? 8:26 If all of those things are yes, then you may choose to leave that tooth alone and just have it monitored frequently by a dentist. 8:33 If you say, no, my health is already tipped over. 8:36 I've already jumped off the cliff with this one. 8:39 I have X, Y, or Z autoimmune condition or heart condition. 8:42 I'm already on medication. 8:44 No, I can't have one more thing that could potentially compromise my health. 8:49 Now, is this saying that root canals could be the one missing piece for every single health condition? 8:54 Absolutely not. 8:55 But a root canal will tax your immune system if it's reinfected. 9:01 And that taxing is what then affects the rest of your systems. 9:05 So it can contribute to health care issues or to health issues or even health escalations. 9:14 So hopefully this has been a real honest review and look at what root canals even are, why they could be concerning, and when you personally need to be 9:24 concerned about it. 9:25 If you enjoyed this information, please subscribe, please share this video with anybody who might have a root canal and who might be concerned about it. 9:33 If you're local to Utah, we would love to see you here at Total Care Dental. 9:36 And if you're not, there's a directory on my website at livingwellwithdrmichelle.com. 9:41 because my mission is to help you live well.
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