I wasn’t planning on writing a blog post on my root canal. Until it became such a popular subject in my direct messages, I thought it deserved a post. I learned a lot about dental care from others stories that ultimately helped with my decision to have my tooth pulled instead of a root canal. I do want to preface with this – YOU have to be your own health advocate. This is not bashing a medical profession at all. Many have and will have root canals with success. It is simply stories, letting you know that there are options besides a root canal, also that teeth are more than something to chew our food and make our smile look nice. I am sharing my personal story and four other stories of others who have opted out or had root canals removed.
Last Friday night my back molar and jaw really started to hurt. We were 4 hours from home on a mini vacation for Easter. It woke me up in the middle of the night. I can’t remember the last time I had any type of pain reliever, but I really wanted some. I did have some Thieves oil (it has Clove in it) and applied that directly to my tooth and gums. It numbed it, but I was still in SO MUCH pain. I was literally watching the clock when I could take over the counter pain meds again. I should add that I have had two natural child births with zero medication during or after. I have a high tolerance for pain, but I could not even handle my tooth pain. Flash back to Cast Away anyone?? I can see why character Tom Hanks hit his tooth out with a rock!
My Aunt works in the dental field, so she advised me to get on an Antibiotic. I started that on Monday. Thankful she suggested it. By Wednesday night I finally felt some relief. When we got home I was able to get into a dentist on Tuesday. He took an X-Ray and advised me to get a re-root canal. He didn’t once mention I could also have it pulled and get an implant. Options are always good to be made aware of, so the patient can consider. Often we don’t know to even ask if there are options.
I had a root canal done about 15ish years ago. And now it had gotten infected. I had an appointment with an Endodontist to get a re-root canal on Wednesday. But I just didn’t feel right about it, so I called to cancel. The stories of my friends came to my mind. I had heard them, but didn’t think much about it, besides good for them…until now, when it applied to me. I asked them to share their stories here, in hopes of helping someone. Again, don’t let this scare you about root canals. Just bring awareness of options.
About a year ago I had watched a friend on Instagram @VintagePorch (she has a highlight on her Instagram) share how she was having her root canals removed. She wasn’t having any teeth pain. Rather was having some autoimmune issues. After doing research she went into have them removed. (She had also had her breast implants removed several years ago because of having mystery illnesses). She realized that her root canals were the only foreign thing left in her body. Natalie had her two root canals pulled, and within a few days more than HALF her symptoms were gone and other symptoms have gotten better over time. Natalie said this-
I fell while running when I tripped over a sidewalk crack and it just got me thinking that I should get my root canals checked and make sure everything was ok with them since I had them all 17-20 years ago! That was right in the time where I was looking for anything that could still be wrong. It was the only other foreign thing left in my body.
I mentioned that I was wondering about my root canals on Instagram and if that could be the cause of my health issues. Tons of people messaged me saying root canals can cause problems and a couple people mentioned the movie the “root cause”. I watched it, and the guy’s symptoms on that movie was me to a T. I’m glad God tripped me on my run that day .
When I was deciding what to do with my tooth, several of you sent me to @angigreene. I watched her 3 Instagram highlights with 100 videos each. Angi sent me this to share with you-
The short of it is that I have been healing my body and mind for the last decade from a lifetime of toxic behaviors, habits and thoughts. After both my parents died, I began to take my physical health and metal health to the forefront. My husband told me about teeth and the meridians and the root cause of health issues in the body over a decade ago (but you know how sometimes things don’t resonate until it is personal).
Well, I have been detoxing consistently for the last building back strength consistently ever since my 3 baby was born 2 years ago and I was finally ready (mentally and financially) to extract my 3 old root canal teeth. They weren’t giving me any trouble or pain but because I knew through reading and researching that there is always infection left in the cavitations if not done properly I decided to have a biological dentist do a 3D cone beam scan and yep there was a ton of infection on both the teeth that were on my breast meridian and my large intestine meridian (my mother died of Colon cancer and my grandmother died of breast cancer)… So I wanted to be preventative and also knowing I was doing all this hard work downstream I wanted to make sure I was dealing with the “root cause” of infection and inflammation in my body.
So I had 3 teeth extracted and 4 old wisdom teeth extraction cavitations cleaned out with Ozone and PRP and I couldn’t be more grateful!!! I have had dental trauma for 40 years from bad strip mall dentistry and constant issues with my mouth so having this surgical experience be so positive because I found the right fit of a dentist who partnered with me and made me feel confident and in control! Next month I am having the same dentist remove the rest of my metal filings and exchange my crowns (7 of them) with a more biocompatible material. I am beyond grateful to have the years of researching that my husband has done and the books that I have read (along with amazing doctors of IG) help me in the process of healing both pre and post surgery
Another sweet friend of mine @ChristieRose shared her story recently as she was going through the process of repairing her smile. I had remembered it and asked her to share….
I had shattered my front tooth when I was 19 and they did an emergency root canal. 11 years later I became really sick with elevated white blood cells, extreme fatigue, and many other symptoms.
I went to a holistic doctor for months and we tried everything. She finally sent me to a dentist after finding out I had a root canal. The dentist immediately saw the infected root canal tooth and I had also developed a cavitation where my wisdom teeth should have developed, but they didn’t. Lots of people who get their wisdom teeth removed have cavitations and they are necrotic bone and need to be removed asap. I then had a 4 hour surgery to remove the tooth and cavitation. 2 weeks later my horrible symptoms were completely gone. I now have a bridge and love my smile!
I found @_healthyashley from one of you! She shared her root canal journey on her instagram highlights 1. Gut+Root Canal and 2. Extraction. She too had went down the “root canal rabbit hole” and wanted to bring awareness to this topic. Which did make me aware and ultimately helped me! Ashely is an Integrative Health Practitioner and sent me this to share with you…
Ten years ago my dentist told me I needed a root canal. I didn’t think anything of it since they were so common, nor did it ever cross my mind that there were other options. As I got older my health began to decline, namely my gut health. My symptoms consisted of: brain fog, chronic fatigue, and bloating. After years of not getting any help or answers in Western Medicine, I took it upon myself to start doing my own research. That’s when I found Holistic and Functional Medicine. The most important thing I’ve learned about our body is that everything is connected!
Oftentimes we focus on one individual symptom or area but the truth is, no system in the body ever works alone. In order to truly heal, we have to look at the big picture. For instance, our oral health is directly correlated with our gut health, and vice versa. After finding a Functional Practitioner and running some labs, we were able to get to the root cause of my symptoms and autoimmune issues. That’s when I first learned how harmful root canals can be and that if I wanted to continue to heal, I would need to have it removed. I searched for a Biological Dentist who was IAOMT certified and was able to safely extract my root canal. It was the best decision I’ve made thus far!
After reading and remembering all the ladies root canal stories above, I decided to search for a Biological Holistic Dentist near me. I did some googling and found one (Dr. David S. Peterson at The Dental Studio). I made an appointment for Friday am, a week after the pain started. He was so great. Dr. Peterson did a CT scan of my mouth. And could see the infection around my tooth. It was hard for him to tell exactly how bad it looked through a CT scan, but he could see it needed a re-root canal or to be removed because of infection. And told me another tooth needed to be treated as well (yay).
I will say Dr.Peterson isn’t against root canals. He likes to try to “save the tooth”. He does safe root canals with ozone therapy as a natural, non-toxic solution to treat various dental issues, including root canals. But he did mention having the tooth pulled as an option. Such an important part to dental care. Knowing your options and knowing what is best for your body and health goals.
He actually said if it was his tooth he would do the re-treat. But it was ultimately my choice and he would support me. I called Kevin and he encouraged me to go with my gut. It was an emotional decision. I started crying once I signed everything to move forward with the tooth removal surgery. Many of you who have went through this or something similar agreed that it is very emotional.
He numbed the tooth, they offered me a blanket (which something so small helped) and I did request laughing gas (I was very anxious). I felt nothing besides the pulling and when he scrapped out the infection. I just listened to an Audio Book (really loud). After he was done he said “that was really infected and a good choice to have it removed. You know your body best and have to trust your gut.”
My dentist is Board Certified Specialist, so he did a bone graft on the tooth I just had pulled. Not sure I will get an implant on that very back molar (#31) but I wanted to have it prepared incase. If I did get an implant it would be a cement implant (zirconium). I want to also mention that Kevin had two teeth pulled about two years ago because his dentist didn’t think his teeth would take the root canal and suggested pulling the teeth. He has NOT gotten implants, you can kind-of see the hole on the side when he smiles. But he is fine with not having them and nothing has shifted (obviously regular dental appointments they check for that). He is considering an implant with the new dentist I found.
*Side note- you that you have to do research before having your tooth pulled on what you want to do with the space after. I did have someone mention that they have a tooth inside their retainer so each night that fake tooth goes in the space and helps to keep her teeth in place. There are options.
I am very happy with my choice to have it removed rather than getting a root canal. I thought, if I would have had this tooth removed 15 years ago instead of getting a root canal I would not be in this situation and in so much pain the past week. Dental care and implants have come a long way. I just didn’t even know back then that having it pulled was an option. I didn’t have any big health issues I was aware of. But I am sure I have had an infection in my root-canal for awhile, it would hurt on and off and I should have went in sooner. How draining that is on your body to have an infection you are fighting everyday??!!
The pain after having the tooth pulled was not as painful as the tooth infection I experienced a week ago. It was sore and tender. But a different type of uncomfortable, more manageable. Ice was my best friend for 36 hours after having it pulled. The side of my face is really swollen, and I have to remind myself that was a pretty intense dental surgery I had done. Next time I will make sure to take a lot of supplements and get prepared before the removal to help decrease the swelling.
Hopefully my story and the stories of others will help you in some way. Please comment below any story you have to share that can help others.
Update- I had another tooth pulled. The exact same tooth on the opposite side, very back molar. I didn’t want to do a root canal and it was cracked, so hard to save it anyways. One helpful thing that I can share is I drank a lot of pineapple juice (cold pressed from Trader Joe’s) weeks leading up to my tooth extraction and I took Turmeric Supplement daily. Both are known to help with swelling and inflammation. (I get my Turmeric HERE, use my ID 17476869 for a gift and to be in my community)
You can see the difference in the swelling. Both were taken a day after extraction. Plus I was in a lot less pain and the second tooth extraction was harder to get out (took longer and more tugging!)
Root Canal Resources-
- Podcast- The Importance of Dentistry in Healing Your Body
- @VintagePorch has a highlight on her Instagram about removing her Root Canals (I mentioned her story above)
- @_healthyashley has a highlight on her instagram about removing her Root Canals
- @angigreene has several highlights and her story of removing her Root Canals as a preventative measure to a history of health issues and cancer
- @blodgettdentalcare shares a lot of stories about root canals and dental care
- The Root Cause Documentary (this was on Netflix but was removed quickly, you can google to find it. My dentist felt it was basically an advertisement for Zirconium implants, because of who funded it. That being said, it does bring up a lot that makes you stop and think.
Victoria says
I had root canal after two apisectomies. I kept getting infections but the root canal fixed that and it saved one of my front teeth. I occasionally get swelling but X-rays don’t show infection and it’s more than likely connected to an illness that began before the root canal. So from my side, the root canal worked. Not dissing your choice, but sharing mine.
Leslie says
I can absolutely attest to how emotional tooth issues are. I struggled with Bulimia for over 9 years so it did quite a number on my teeth. In college I couldn’t afford options like root canals or implants so I did end up having my top far back molars on both sides pulled as they were both infected and the pain, as you mentioned is indescribable. I remember wanting to use a knife to cut it out myself, it was awful. Anyway, fast forward many years and I honestly don’t miss those teeth much. I helps that my dentist reminds me that it really isn’t a big deal that those teeth are gone. It’s fairly close to having your wisdom teeth removed and that you just need to make sure you take care of the ones that are now your top far back teeth. Which now I actually have implants on both sides. I have three implants total. All three of which I feel like I had to have done not only for cosmetic reasons and self esteem but also because the new far back molars help to protect the teeth in front of them. Kevin may want to think about implants for those molars because of that reason. If you ever do go the implant route, be prepared for it to be another emotional time. My back implants weren’t as emotional as my front one because you couldn’t see the empty space while the bone graft was healing before I could get the actual implant. I had a partial for the front tooth for 6 months that caused me to slur my words so I rarely wore it. I found it easier just to not talk or smile. Super depressing. Anyway, I wish you much luck and a hope that your tooth issues only improve from here on out! But, if they don’t just remember, so many people are in your same boat. Don’t ever feel guilty or ashamed and know that emotions run high and it’s a scary process but you’ll always get through it! Taking care of ourselves and our health is worth the fear, emotions, financial impact and pain that tend to go along with it! You’re worth it!
[email protected] says
appreciate you sharing your story. You have been through a lot. You are right, we are all SO worth it.
Sheri says
I unknowingly had a low grade tooth infection for years. I opted to have a tooth extracted after tooth pain occurred in an old root canal. After tooth was removed, I stopped getting sick all the time. My urine also had developed a bad odor and that immediately cleared up too. I have now had 11 teeth removed (4 healthy ones for braces, 4 impacted wisdom and now 3 decaying root canals. At some point I may look into a partial but for now I’m happier not having any lingering health issues.
Sarah Anderson says
This is all very interesting! Thank you to each of you for sharing your stories. I watched “The root cause” movie a few years ago and was highly impressed. At the time, our family was getting ready to move internationally and it wasn’t going to be an option to have any dental work like that done anytime soon. I have one root canal that I have had since I was a teenager in high school…. so about 25 years ago! I also have had 2 other root canals done. The reason I began doing research is because not long after I had a root canal done the first time, I developed brain fog, gluten intolerance, gut issues and lower back pain. These have since gotten worse. The dentist is my LEAST favorite appointment to go to, but now I am reconsidering. I think I will try to find a Biological Holisitc dentist to do a scan and check. Thanks again for this article!
Cathy Kerin says
Wow this is Interesting. I have a root canal on each side. They both cause me problems. When I breathe in cold air or eat hot soup or even work out and am heavy breathing my teeth begin to have severe pain. I literally get horrible headaches and have to take aspirin before I walk outside. Never knew they can be removed. My dentist has never been able to figure out what causes this but it ruins my quality of life 🙁
Ann says
One of my most vivid memories of touring Colonial Williamsburg a number of years ago was one guide’s statement that the leading cause of suicide at that time was dental pain.
[email protected] says
I can 100% believe that!!!!!
Stephanie says
Message Jordan Schrandt. She has lots of experience with this and how to handle the swelling and recovery.
Annalisa says
I have a botched root canal done on my back molar and my new dentist said I would need to eventually pull the tooth and get an implant. I wish I had done that from the beginning (it would save time, money and sensitivity in that tooth!). Thanks for sharing. Please share your experience getting an implant because I’m so curious!
Suzi says
Last Monday I had a tooth with a root canal that had gone bad extracted.
Had the root canal done approximately 8 years ago and extraction was never mentioned as an option. The extraction went very well last week and I have not had any pain afterwards.
Nichole says
My husband lost his brand new adult front tooth when he was 7 years old, after falling out of his bunk bed. In the 70’s, evidently there weren’t any rails on top bunks. My husband had an implant then. Then years later, our oldest son accidentally hit my husbands front tooth with the back of his head, when he was sitting on his lap, and it broke the implant! Turns out he totally had an infection as well. He had to wear a flipper and let it all heal. $7k later he got another implant. Well fast forward 10 years, and his implant straight fell out. He had bone loss, and it caused the implant to fall out. So please consider taking care of your bone health! We now take Osteobalance by pure encapsulation. I hope it helps us both! He has to see an endodontist, then get a bridge put in. We decided no more expensive implants. It was good, and worked, but a little expensive to keep doing. Get well! Glad you’re sharing. I shared this blog post with my husband and mom. I’m hoping my mom fires her dentist and sees someone else. They are saying they won’t take out her old metal fillings.
Colleen May says
Oh Brooke, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. It is indeed horrible pain. I had a a molar (root canal removal) pulled last summer. That tooth had bothered me off an on the last few years. I had had a root canal on that tooth 25 years ago! Well, it became so painful one night (I was out of state…living with my sister for the summer because my daughter worked as a nanny in my sisters town) and I thought I might die the pain was so intense. So, I contacted a dentist in TN where we were and he recommended having the root canal redone but I didn’t feel peace about that. My niece got me an appt with a dental surgeon she knows and he gave me the option to have it extracted. The infection became so bad in 3 days that the entire left side of my face swelled up into my eye! The X-ray showed that the infection had spread into my sinus cavity and above my eye. So dangerous! He ultimately put me to sleep and extracted the tooth. It was a very emotional moment for me as well when I signed the paperwork after deciding to have it extracted. I felt silly because I had a hard time pulling myself together, but they were so kind and compassionate. I’m so thankful. I haven’t gotten an implant yet because it is a molar and I havent had any trouble chewing food so I may not get one after all. I’m now seriously considering having my other root canal taken out as well. Thank you for sharing your story and the others as well. Praying you are healed completely from the surgery soon!
[email protected] says
Oh my goodness!!! And I totally feel you with not being able to pull it together. I couldn’t stop tearing up. The sweet detail assistant was like “are you sure you are ok”. Nice to know we aren’t alone heart ❤️ thanks for sharing your story!
Alina says
Do you need a special dentist to pull a root canal or can it be your regular dentist. I may need my upper right molar root canal pulled. It bothers me on and off plus it’s an old one.
[email protected] says
Most dentists can…but if you want to have it prepared for an implant you want someone who is Board Certified. I would talk to your dentist!
Sara de Neve says
So interesting! Thank you so much for sharing! I did something similar my very back top molar had a crown on it and I was constantly breaking the crown in half from my grinding and clenching at night no matter what I took to stop it. I finally got so tired of going in to get it repaired that I just asked the doctor to pull it. They offered to do an implant but I declined since I knew I would probably break the implant anyway with my teeth grinding. I have since started rubbing lavender oil directly on the bottom of my feet and my big toes and breathing it in before bed and it has helped extremely at night with decreasing my grinding. I don’t really miss my tooth at all and I’m so glad I made that decision!
Erin Leal says
I had a root canal a few years ago that frankly didn’t go well… the tooth was still cracked from the root and I had a bad infection. I have an awesome dentist (new state and new state of mind😉) that said “Let’s pull this tooth and do an implant.” I have never been happier! Good luck with the process. It can be frustrating and takes weeks of healing, but it’s all worth it in the end !
Jess says
Be sure to research the cost and process of an implant – after my daughters accident we were advised to save a tooth as long as possible and that implants take many months w treatment and can be rejected…. I’d thought it was a quick solution but two dentists cautioned us to ruth to that – basically there’s no simple answer but recommend people do their own research.
Janine says
Bless you for sharing your story and others’ experiences. They are vital! I learned about the importance of Biological Dentistry during my personal research in 2017 after being diagnosed with late stage 4 ovarian cancer at age 52. It was a complete shock. I hadn’t been feeling well for awhile though I was living my life as women tend to do. I kept attributing negative symptoms to other reasons: I needed to sleep more, stress less, exercise more, eat healthier, better hydrate, fight through fatigue, ignore pain that would come and go at my side, my back, a bloated abdomen, (thinking maybe I was peri-menopausal-finally!) & thought I needed to count my blessings, be happy and try harder. Looking back after learning the signs, they were there. Even though I’d googled stomach pain, saw the symptoms and thought, “no way, I don’t have cancer-I’m healthy.” I had no family history of OC and later found no BRCA positive gene. This wasn’t even on my radar. Though it could be a combination of reasons that led to my body not being able to fight off cancer cells and disease taking hold, I began searching to see what I could do to address underlying issues and return to health. I believe in miracles and prayed that God’s light would heal and direct me. I wasn’t ready to leave my family if He would let me stay. I had an unexpected education into everything I could find that may help that I felt led to study. My body had my complete attention. I wanted God and my family to know I was ready to do whatever I could. Instantly I cleaned up my diet and went plant based, swapped out standard toxic laden products for clean, took supplements, put more holistic therapies into practice along with going through three months of intensive chemotherapy. Miracles were unfolding through faith and Jesus Christ, which included knowledge. Midway through I became a candidate for surgery and was able to complete the final three months of chemotherapy just before Christmas that year. There were complications throughout. They were worth it but my body was so weak, everywhere. Now it was time to build health. I learned about Biological Dentistry from a heaven sent friend and found after a comprehensive exam and testing that an emergency root canal from about 10 years earlier was infected at the tip of a root. During a root canal nerves are killed, so the pain that would normally alert you to infection sooner will eventually drip into your bloodstream. My bio dentist explained it was the only organ in our day that is mummified and left in our bodies. An eye opening analogy. My root canal location was on a reproductive (ovarian) meridian. I chose to have total dental revision surgery in one 7 hour sedation session. All metals (past fillings) were removed, the infected root canal removed, 2 caps removed (that had corrosive fillings underneath) and ozone therapy given to cavitation’s from past wisdom tooth removals. I also had IV vitamin C a few days later in this same dental office along with a lymphatic massage to help in healing from the dental revisions. Fast forward to 2020. My Oncologist Gynecological Surgeon (practicing in two states and multiple hospitals) told me last year that I am his only patient that has come in with late stage 4 cancer, had a remarkable response to chemotherapy, and that it hasn’t returned. He told me that he and his collogues, which are many, “scratch and shake their heads, they can’t believe it.” He asked me if I knew how many patients of his have had this (type of healing) happen. I raised my shoulders in question, and he held up his fingers to form a circle. “Zero, you’re the only one.” How humbled I feel as well as a great responsibility. Please, please let there be many more healed moving forward. As Brooke and others have shared, it is vital that we listen to our bodies. I believe that we can heal illness through His (The true ‘Only One’) grace and direction and know more may have the same bright outcome that I’ve been able to have. Thank you sincerely Brooke, for allowing me to share this experience. For those wanting to learn, here is a link to signs and symptoms of Ovarian Cancer- https://www.cancer.org/cancer/ovarian-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/signs-and-symptoms.html
Alyssa says
I am encouraged by your experience! I am going through the EXACT same thing right now, only I had a bad sinus infection that stemmed from the tooth infection! I just finished my 10 day course of antibiotics and am getting the tooth pulled on Wed. I am a little frustrated that it will have taken almost two weeks to get it out. A tooth canal retreat was not an option because the tooth has lost too much integrity for a cap. I am hoping extracting the infected tooth will alleviate so many allergy/sinus issues I’ve had all year. It’s helpful to know I’m not alone!!
Robin Dickson says
Wow this comes at such a good time for me. I have been having tooth pain on a molar that has had a root canal done on it and you are right I have been fighting this pain and it is draining. I am going to go to the dentist and probably have it pulled now for sure. I have been trying to get my body clean and I did not think of teeth. I have gut issues and have had forever. Maybe this explains some of the underlying problems I have been dealing with. Thank you so much 😊