{"id":130,"date":"2022-06-17T12:20:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T12:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sdentalnj.com\/blog\/?p=130"},"modified":"2022-07-15T00:21:55","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T00:21:55","slug":"do-root-canals-cause-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sdentalnj.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/17\/do-root-canals-cause-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Root Canal Therapy Cause Cancer?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Dental<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For decades now, people have been asking the question, \u201cDo root canals<\/a> cause cancer?\u201d That\u2019s because a rumor saying they do has existed just as long. Even today, the idea appears on the Internet through message boards and social media. The truth, though, is that this dental treatment could never cause such an illness. To learn why that\u2019s the case, here\u2019s a summary of how root canals work and why they\u2019re perfectly safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s a Root Canal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In short, a root canal is a dental procedure that repairs damaged or infected teeth. It does so by drilling into the center of a tooth\u2019s rot to clean and fill the canals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The treatment is usually necessary when a tooth\u2019s root pulp \u2014 its blood vessels, connective tissue, and nerve endings \u2014 gets infected. Left to itself, this infection can lead to toothaches, abscesses, and bone loss. The only other way to solve the issue would be a tooth extraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Root Canals Cause Cancer?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The answer to this question is a big, fat \u201cNo!\u201d The idea that root canals cause cancer is a myth based on debunked research from nearly a hundred years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Said research came from a dentist working in the 1920s named Weston Price. At one point, Price ran a series of experiments to see if root canals were connected to diseases. He concluded that teeth that receive root canals contain toxins that contribute to conditions like arthritis, heart disease, and cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, no peer-reviewed study has ever shown a link between cancer and root canals. Plus, Price\u2019s work relied on extremely unreliable methods, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n