I just stumbled upon this and watched it right now and my mind is kind of blown. Have you seen this doc? I would love to hear your opinion. If the info in it is accurate it seems completely paradigm shifting and has the potential to change my life significantly. https://youtu.be/OHN-JJO7HHw
Discussion
Finally have time to watch this. Going through it now
This has been a popular film of controversy in my industry, I'm surprised it took so long for me to watch it in full.
I did, just off the top of my head:
-There's a full range of truth, half-truths, genuinity, ulterior motives in this film
- most of the dentists/endodontists I know understand that cleaning a canal doesn't fully sterilize it. The point of contention is how the individual can/can't handle the residual bacterial load
- We know that root canal therapy on a tooth that's vital is much more successful than on a tooth that's been necrotic for a long time (high failure rate regardless of surgical precision)
- people that need root canal therapy because of active oral decay (cavities) are in poor overall health. It's no surprise that they are highly correlated with cancer/laundry list of illness/malaise. I don't think I can reasonably draw the conclusion that every root canal treated tooth is the direct cause of systemic illness/disease
- getting root canal therapy has a different risk/reward calculation if you're healthy and lose a tooth to acute trauma, like catching an elbow to the mouth. It's less likely that bad bacteria had a chance to multiply in the tooth, and if sealed appropriately, inhibited indefinitely
- they're still developing technologies that yield better surgical outcomes like positive/negative pressure ultrasonic cleaning of lateral canals, and more biocompatible materials like MTA sealers instead of gutta percha and resin based sealants, etc
- it's true that a lot of existing and ongoing root canal treatments are sub-par and do cause problems in the long term. I'd say less than 2% of dentists/specialists can perform a root canal therapy to a standard that's acceptable for my mouth
- getting root canal therapy is a different tradeoff calculation for every individual
- in my decade of practicing, I've helped individuals extract root canal treated teeth based on watching this documentary. Most dentists know it's best practice to currette the socket to facilitate healing
- because of unresolved systemic health issues, they usually come back in 6-12 months looking for the next suspect
- in the documentary, this filmmaker went on a journey to improve his overall health, which more likely coincided with fixing his broken boner than a root canal treated tooth, provided it was asymptomatic
- if you're concerned about a previously root canaled treated tooth in your mouth, do take a CBCT and any oral radiologist/endodontist would tell you if the root canal treated tooth is problematic based on the health of the tissue around it. A general dentist may miss some details when interpreting the image
- ceramic implants are more biocompatible than other replacement options
- no replacement is ever as good/biocompatible with your natural teeth. Take care of them as much as you can
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Wow, thanks for such a thorough analysis, I very much appreciate it. Because the film is so controversial, most of the discussion of it online is very polarized with most dentists dismissing it as complete BS but without really explaining why most of the time.
So it is good to hear your analysis, coming from someone who is trained and knowledgeable in the field but also not blindly accepting the status quo and willing to challenge the generally accepted knowledge.
My teeth have been generally healthy as an adult but my wife has had a lot of work done and has more coming up. In addition to and coinciding with that she has dealt with a lot of chronic health issues that are not easy to diagnose or fix, similar to the protagonist in the film. So there is always a balancing act between hoping you'll be able to find the answer or the cure, but also not wanting to get your hopes up for another answer or natural treatment that maybe helps around the edges but doesn't really get to the heart of the matter. And this movie was one of those times that made me wonder if this could really be at the root of a lot of my wife's problems.
After thinking about it and reading some other things as well as your response I am doubting that a previous root canal treatment is the cause of her issues, but I am interested in her getting a CBCT just to rule it out.