Are Root Canals Safe?

We are GLAD you are concerned, as are we! We are on your side.

It is the driving force that influences everything that we do. First, we absolutely agree with you. Endodontic treatment MUST be performed well to be safe and an infected tooth or a poorly done Root Canal Treatment can indeed be the source of pain and other health issues, like swelling or fever. That being said, while there is some very misguided, but we'll assume well-meaning, incorrect information on the internet, root canals DO NOT cause cancer or other systemic disease. Much of the misinformation stems from the 'focal infection theory' promulgated primarily by Dr. Weston Price in the 1920's and was pushed before modern concepts of how disease develops and spreads was known as they are now. His studies were hopelessly flawed, had no control groups, and were very poorly designed. Science unequivocally disproved that theory soon afterwards and there is absolutely zero peer-reviewed research supporting this theory. Those ideas are still floating in cyberspace and misrepresent modern medicine. We are open minded about holistic medicine and nutrition and other complimentary areas of medical treatment, but will not advocate treatment modalities that are dangerous or known to be incorrect. We believe that, certainly, some individuals have serious medical problems that have not been cured by modern medicine and it is imperative to do as much as possible to make every aspect of those patients' lives as healthy as possible. Often, we do recommend extraction when a patient is facing significant health challenges so that no resources need to be marshaled to deal with a healing infection or when there is a poor prognosis for the tooth. Many of the online 'theories' out there prey on the frustrations and worries of sick people who have not been cured and who are desperately looking for a simple answer to very complex health problems.

Endodontic treatment is very successful (well over 90%) in healthy patients when proper case selection parameters are followed. At Cornerstone Endodontics we constantly are searching for ways to improve your treatment. We assess every new product and process as they are developed and have invested in technology that goes even beyond modern, safe, predictable endodontics to cutting-edge state-of-the-art paradigm changing endodontics. Our Er:YAG lasers are the final step in truly disinfecting your tooth. Every case in our office is treated with the laser. Research has shown in multiple peer-reviewed journals that following laser treatment the tooth is not only cleaned at the macro level, but even the tubules are bacteria free and bacteria cannot be cultured from a tooth following laser disinfection. We are proud to offer you this service and are confident that you are receiving the best care possible.