CHAPTER FOUR: FAULTY FALL-BACK OF ROOT CANAL TREATMENT
Can the Immune System Save the Mission?
By now it should be evident that most, if not all, root canal-treated teeth remain infected. Substantiation in the previous chapters confirms that root canal-treated teeth leak bacteria and toxins through both the apical foramen at the tip of the root and the dentinal tubules. 1 And even while endodontists admit that bacteria “might” leak from the treated tooth, they still claim that the procedure is safe and effective, even in the face of this admission.
Here’s a quote from the official website of the American Association of Endodontists (AAE):
“A root canal is a safe and effective procedure. When a severe infection in a tooth requires endodontic treatment, that treatment is designed to eliminate bacteria from the infected root canal, prevent reinfection of the tooth and save the natural tooth. The presence of bacteria in teeth and the mouth has been an accepted fact for many years. But the presence of bacteria does not constitute ‘infection’ and is not necessarily a threat to a person’s health. Bacteria are present in the mouth and teeth at all times, even in teeth that have never had a cavity or other trauma. Research shows that the healthy immune system takes care of bacteria in a matter of minutes.” 2
This statement essentially concedes that all the bacteria can’t be eliminated from an infected tooth, and then claims that this reality isn’t a health risk because “research shows that the healthy immune system takes care of bacteria in a matter of minutes.”
At this point several questions need to be asked: What does the AAE mean by “take care of”?
Does the immune system “take care of” all bacteria? If not, to which bacteria is the AAE referring? What about the clinical cases of brain abscess caused by an infected tooth? Strep throat? Or the long list of other bacterial infections that the immune system should have “taken care” of?
The AAE states that the presence of bacteria does not constitute infection. This is misleading since without a blood supply inside the tooth, a root canal-treated tooth cannot mount an inflammatory response. The lack of an inflammatory response actually allows the bacteria to thrive without the threat of an immune response. Further, although our bodies contain millions of bacteria that do not cause us illness, just like with real estate, it is location, location, location! It is the presence of pathogenic bacteria within tissues that should be normally free of bacteria that causes the problem. How then does the AAE claim that the residual bacteria that caused the need for a root canal in the first place not constitute an infection?
If the immune system “takes care of” all infectious bacteria, why did the tooth become infected in the first place and “require” the root canal procedure? And if the immune system is truly healthy, wouldn’t it “take care of” any and all infection in a tooth?
What about the exotoxins created by bacteria, does the immune system “take care of” them, too?
In theory the AAE is depending on effective immune function, which has already failed to prevent or eliminate infection in the tooth. What will enable the immune system to “take care of” this same infection as it is scattered to other parts of the body?
Although toxic shock syndrome can produce dramatic harmful effects at numerous distant sites in the body, the actual focus of toxin production is often hidden.
In practice dentists inadvertently admit that the immune system is not able to “take care of” the bacteria released from an infected tooth. These endodontic practitioners frequently and correctly tell a patient that a failure to deal with the infected tooth could eventually have a catastrophic impact on other parts of the body, such as the heart or the brain. (An untreated, infected tooth can and probably will produce disease in other parts of the body, given enough time. Unfortunately, the root canal treatment cannot effectively eliminate the source of infection. )
In the early 20th century, Weston Price, Frank Billings, Ed Rosenow, and others provided copious research that showed a localized infection in a root canal-treated tooth could cause or promote disease in other parts of the body. It is ironic that the very concept that the AAE has tried to discredit has become an argument used to convince a patient of the need for endodontic treatment.
The phenomenon they want to debunk is referred to as “the focal infection theory” which states that a localized infection in the body can initiate and/or promote systemic disease in other parts of the body. Debunking this theory, however, requires the denial of observable facts.
Some bacteria will synthesize and secrete poisons, called exotoxins, in response to oxygen deprivation as well as other environmental changes. Perhaps the most well-known of these exotoxins is produced by the normally innocuous bacteria Clostridium botulinum . Every day people all over the world ingest this microorganism on fruits and vegetables without consequence. However, when a small number of these bacteria find their way into a vacuum-packed can and are sealed away from oxygen, the situation changes quickly. Under these conditions the bacteria secrete the deadly botulism exotoxin and taint all the food in the container.
Since it is the exotoxin from the bacteria in this example, and not the bacteria itself that attacks the body, the immune system is less effective in effectively defending itself. The resulting food poisoning can be, and often is, fatal.
Toxic Shock Syndrome: a Deadly Example of a Focal Infection
Toxic shock syndrome is another example of this type of poisoning. This
disease was first described in the late 1970’s and initially observed in women who used “super absorbent” tampons.
The conditions are ripe for developing toxic shock syndrome when Staphylococcus aureus bacteria multiply throughout the absorbent tampon material. In the absence of oxygen these bacteria secrete the TSST-1 exotoxin. The longer the infected tampon is left in place, the higher the likelihood that the toxin will leak out of the tampon and get into the bloodstream. If this happens, the poison can migrate to and damage organs throughout the body.
In Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 19th edition, the clinical presentation of toxic shock syndrome is described as follows:
“The patient, almost always unaware of the focus [origin] of toxin production [the tampon], experiences the abrupt onset of high fever, myalgia [muscle pain], and profuse nausea, vomiting, and watery diarrhea. ...The patient often becomes progressively more ill and is frequently in frank shock when presenting for care. ...Hypotension and frank shock are common and are often associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS], acute renal [kidney] failure, and abnormalities in literally every organ system evaluated.” 3
Why can’t the immune system kill these toxin-producing bacteria before they cause disease? The answer is fairly basic. Bacteria gain entrance and grow in the tampon because it is made from a porous substance. They multiply and thrive since fluids can seep in and provide nourishment. But since there is no blood supply in the tampon, these bacteria are protected from the infection-fighting agents of the immune system, such as white blood cells.
The actual site of a focal infection can infect and/or poison other parts of the body without exhibiting any symptoms at the originating location.
These bacteria grow and produce life-threatening exotoxins for which the immune system has little defense. Ultimately, the exotoxins spread to the
rest of the body and initiate a toxic shock response in various organs and structures throughout the body.
Toxic shock syndrome is an accelerated model of a focal infection. A bacterial focus at one site in the body subsequently causes disease in one or more distant sites. In the case of toxic shock syndrome, it is the dissemination of the bacterial toxins and not the bacteria themselves that is the primary reason for the development of the disease.
Although toxic shock syndrome can produce dramatic harmful effects at numerous distant sites in the body, the actual focus of toxin production is often hidden. Again referring to Cecil Textbook of Medicine , “toxic shock syndrome is almost certainly caused by the production of one or more toxins at the site of a localized and often relatively asymptomatic or unnoticed infection with any strain of S. aureus capable of toxin production.” 3 In other words, the actual site of a focal infection can infect and/or poison other parts of the body without exhibiting any symptoms at the originating location.
The Immune System Cannot Make the Root Canal Procedure Safe
The comparison between a root canal-treated tooth and a tampon is useful in illustrating the mechanism of initial infection with subsequent dissemination of bacteria and bacterial toxins from that focus of infection. It highlights the devastating consequences of providing a microorganism- friendly environment that is sequestered from the immune system. It also demonstrates how a root canal-treated tooth can actually be highly toxic and yet remain “asymptomatic.”
A root canal procedure is almost always performed when the normally sterile pulp canal becomes infected with bacteria and then becomes painful. These bacteria invade the pulp and migrate down the root canal space and into the porous tooth structure composed of countless dentinal tubules. There, just like with a tampon, the bacteria continue to grow in the warm, moist, dark, and now bacteria-friendly environment. Moreover, once the pulp tissue becomes necrotic, the bacteria infecting the tooth are now effectively out of reach of the body’s immune system. Antibiotics are also
of little help since there is no blood supply to effectively deliver them to the infection.
Just like with a tampon... the bacteria infecting the tooth are now effectively out of reach of the body’s immune system.
Newer tampon designs, as well as changing them frequently, can significantly reduce the risk of developing toxic shock syndrome associated with tampons. The problem with a root canal-treated tooth is that it is an integral part of your body and cannot be changed. The infected tooth is a permanent focus of infection that has the potential to cause disease throughout the body for as long as it remains.
The predominant Streptococci bacteria in infected teeth are not the same strain seen in toxic shock syndrome. But when deprived of oxygen, as is the case in the root canal-treated tooth, they frequently produce very potent toxins that can cause a low-grade, continuous type of toxic shock. Such a situation can eventually manifest as any of a multitude of different diseases, depending upon the genetic predispositions or “weaknesses” of the affected patients.
It is unlikely that proponents of endodontic treatment will accept the logic in this comparison of a root canal-treated tooth with the toxic shock syndrome. The AAE website claims that there is no scientific evidence that root canal-treated teeth actually cause disease. Contrary to the AAE claim, however, there is plenty of scientific evidence that root canal-treated teeth cause disease. That is the subject of the next chapter.
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