Meet the digital cousin of Hypochondria --- Cyberchondria. How many health articles do you read on social media and wonder….”is (fill in the blank) really damaging to my health?” There’s a lot of great information available in cyberspace, but there’s also a lot of misinformation out there. Root canal therapy is one of the many subjects in the (mis) information highway.
The “Roaring 20’s” and Root Canals
What comes to your mind when you hear the term The “Roaring 20’s?” Music? Fashion? Prohibition? How about Root Canals? Hold that thought, we’ll come back to that in a minute.
You’ve just logged into Facebook…you’re scrolling through your newsfeed and you see this headline – “Shocking connection: 97% of all cancer patients previously had a root canal.” Before you run to the nearest dentist to have those teeth extracted, let’s talk about the Roaring 20’s again.
In addition to some great Jazz music, the 1920’s was where the root canal - cancer story began. Thanks to the internet, old information can become new, and century old research done by a dentist by the name of Dr. Weston Price (1870-1948) can take on new life. You may have read the story of how he implanted a tooth that had a root canal into a rabbit and the rabbit became ill and died, or that patients who had severely infected teeth developed systemic inflammatory conditions even after they had root canals. From a medical standpoint, if you place tissue from one living thing to another, that recipient’s body will in fact reject the donor’s tissue (think organ donation and the anti-rejection medications the recipient must take to allow their body to accept it). In addition, while it is true that an infected tooth can cause an inflammatory response, teeth can become infected regardless of whether the tooth had a root canal. Addressing problems early on is key in keeping dental infections at bay.
Unfortunately, this type of informational rebirth results in media hysteria, or worse, prevents patients from seeking the help they need. There is no valid, scientific evidence linking root canals and cancer and it is not clear from where the "97 percent" figure commonly cited in the root canal cancer link claim originates.
Believe it or not, there are people out there who want you to think you’re ill. They profit by eroding people's trust in medical professionals, and in many cases, citing studies and research that was not done. Reader beware…the internet should be used as a guide - not the rule.