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7/23/04 Have read your website on root canal fillings and wish to tell my story to you and others on your site as after reading the information from both pro and anti root fillings, I decided to have my tooth extracted as against a root filling.

I am 54, have enjoyed good health all my life and believe this was due to healthy foods and lots of exercise. From my childhood days I had approximately 11 amalgam fillings but these where replaced with composites some time ago. I did not have any root canal fillings.

Two years ago began to get mild headaches, then one year later severe headaches pushed me to the doctor who had no answers so I trotted off to the dentist who found an infected tooth, top left back. The dentist found that the root canals were dead and suggested root canal fillings. I had read some articles on root fillings and was not sure so for the time being the roots were cleaned and filed out then dressed for the short term until I made a decision on whether to fill or extract.

The headaches were gone and I let the three month period to make a choice slide out to one year which brings us to the present date.

One month ago the mild headaches were back and then last week the infected tooth let me know it was time to make that decision of fill or extract the tooth.

On to the web and Google, type in "root canal fillings" and here was all the relevant information on the pros and cons of root fillings. Dr Price and Meinig's research was very exacting although the ADA attempt to discredit the outcome puts you at two minds of what to believe.

After reading Melanie's site and those who passed on their experience I made up my mind to extract the tooth. Made the appointment for an extraction, and was questioned if I was sure that this was the correct decision. The dentist made no attempt to alter my decision.

Today at the dentist an x-ray of the tooth showed nothing such as an infection build-up or fracture. Half an hour later and the tooth is out.

I had made the correct decision, as attached to one of the roots there is a very large sack of infection that did not show on the x-ray. My dentist remarked that this was the white cells protecting my body from the toxins and was the largest he had ever seen, and that the infection was possibly over two years old. He also commented that more than likely my health would be affected at sometime as the immune system becomes weaker in fighting the anti-bodies from the infected tooth.

Now if I had agreed to a root filling who knows what health problems may have come from this but I already know that headaches would have been the norm.

Until there is a guaranteed method of assuring a root canal filling will remain healthy I will never agree to a root filing.

2/22/04 Melanie, I stumbled on your website and I wanted to know how you are doing? Boy, can I identify with you!!! I hope you are doing better each day. Did you have an alvectomy (sp?) where they scrape out the infection and reshape the bone?

I have had a very similar experience. For the last 25 years, I have had ringing in my ears, dizziness, feeling of fluid in my ear, feeling of pressure, tense face muscles and what the doctor said was tmj. Looking back on it, it happened after I had my wisdom teeth extracted. When I went to a tmj specialist, he said I had atypical facial pain and not tmj. I wish I had the money back I've spent on splints and the money I've spent going to ENT specialists (I counted 16 in the phonebook I've been to). I have also been on Prozac for years for anxiety and depression over this.

About 4 years ago, the dentist did a root canal on this tooth (#19, first molar on the bottom) - I think mainly to get me to shut up about the pain. The root canal didn't relieve the pain, so I kept going back to him and he would say I had an infection in the bone and he'd drain fluid out and gave me antibiotics. I would be on antibiotics and feel better for a while and when I got off of them I would get sick again. I had 12 rounds of antibiotics during 2003 for bronchitis, sinusitis, eye infection, etc. My internist didn't know why and was baffled. I went to another dentist and she said I may have a vertical cracked tooth (they don't show up on x-ray). She sent me to an endodontist and she did an apicoectomy (reverse root canal) on the tooth and said she didn't see any cracks. She put me on steroids and 2 rounds of antibiotics and I got better for a short while and then sick again!! By December 2003, I could hardly function and had a temp of 102, I couldn't think straight (like I had alzheimer's) so I drug myself to an oral surgeon and he pulled the tooth. He showed me the tooth and it had large cracks in no less than 3 places. He didn't scrape out the residual infection and 5 weeks later when I went back, he said it was healing nicely inspite of the fact the tissue was oozing and swollen and I felt horrible. I went to another dentist who felt the abscess (it didn't show up on x-rays) and drained it and flushed it with oral antibiotics. He referred me to another oral surgeon who immediately knew that I had osteitis caused by a chronic infection (from the cracked tooth) where bone had formed around the tooth trying to protect the body from infection. He said it was 3 times the normal size. He put me on 8 weeks of doxycycline and Tues. I am going to have it scraped out and part of the bone taken out. This means in the last 4 years, I have been to 3 dentists and 2 oral surgeons trying to get help. I am hoping this procedure will cure it, however, I keep reading on the internet where it doesn't always. The oral surgeon also thinks he saw another cracked tooth on the other side in the back on a root canal tooth. I think this is what's been wrong with me for the lat 25 years and in a way I'm happy to find out what it is and in a way I'm mad because I've been robbed. I still feel terrible and I'm hoping I will eventually get to feeling better.

2/25/04 Yesterday I had an alveoplasty where the oral surgeon made an incision in my gums and scraped the area out and removed some bone. He sent the bone off for biopsy. I have been reading on the internet about using a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to help the antibiotic reach the jaw area since the blood supply has a difficult time getting there.

12/08/03 I have just read your article on root canals. I completely agree with you and can back up your comments as I had a root-canal tooth removed some time ago.

I had the root canal done when I was 11 years old because at that time it was the only alternative. Over the years I didn't notice anything until around 1985 when some fluid began leaking out of the gum area where the root canal had been done.

I was referred to a specialist who did an apicectomy but this didn't last long and I kept getting infections which needed antibiotics to control them.

Interestingly I still found dentists who were quite willing to put another crown on the tooth.

About two years ago I had the tooth removed. I have definitely noticed an improvement.

There are dentists who say that root canals are perfectly safe. I am not a dentist but I have read as much as I can on the subject of root canal treatment.

I believe the reason some dentists push the treatment is financially motivated in part and also most people don't want to consider having an implant as it is even more expensive.

There is a book I have called "Look Younger, Live Longer" By Gaylord Hauser. He describes what happens to a person with an infected tooth. I hope you are enjoying good health.

11/06/03 I am now 41 and at 23, I had some dental work done - some silver fillings and a root canal. and about 3 months later I started having ear problems... started gradual i.e. clicking, pain, pressure, fluid, just irritating and took a lot out of me. It drained me. I have had ear pain, a watery solution come out of my ears, phlegm and clicking in my ear for ~ 20 years.

I saw specialists, ENTs and agreed to have my tonsils out - since they thought that may be the cause of my right ear clicking. (If you put your ear next to mine, you could hear the clicking). Well the surgery did not work. Then they said that they could operate on my ear but I could lose 50% of my hearing, so I said no thanks and have been living with this the entire time - its been awful, I have tried everything but nothing helped.

About 4 months ago, I went for a cleaning, and the hygienist poked into my gum and I jumped out of my seat. The dentist said I needed a root canal on this tooth. I agreed and it seemed that what she was doing in my mouth was helping my ear, and I already thought things were getting better. She cleaned the hole in my gum, and cleaned the roots. She did the root canal and my ear problems were gone, well for only 3 months, and now I was browsing to try to find out why I got better and now I am falling into the clicking and ear pain again. On the internet, I stumbled on your site. For 20 years I suffered, and I even have age spots on my right hand, since its my right tooth, no wonder my right side is affected, its even strange that my seasonal allergies affect my right side more than my left side.

After reading your biographies, I am convinced removing this root canal tooth is my only solution to survive.

06/16/03 Here's a start: Symptoms I experienced: Patient's mouth/tongue very red, lots of heat; Very fast onset of periodontal disease; Grinding down of teeth in the night; Swollen, painful lymph glands under the chin; Meningitis(inflammation of the lining around the brain)/Septicaemia (Blood poisoning)

Symptoms: fever, nausea vomiting, severe headache, stiff neck, eyes intolerant to light, sleepiness, confusion, unresponsive/vacant, severe muscle/joint aches/pains, stomach pain, freezing cold hands and feet, chills/shivering. Complaints of internal burning; Excessive thirst; Extreme exhaustion; Inability to focus the mind for long; Internal organ problems; Excruciating neck pain; Frequent migraine headaches, accompanied by vomiting, dry heaves and passing out; Extreme confusion and panic attacks, feeling of helplessness; Extreme stiffness of the whole body, feeling like it is turning to concrete; Eyes burning, blurring, photophobia (extreme sensitivity to light); Ear infection, feeling full, hearing impacted; Insane nightmares; Symptoms of insanity coming on overnight; Withdrawal from normal activities and relationships; Total loss of self control, both mind and body; Thoughts of suicide and wishing to die to escape the pain; Face looking blank, like the spirit has departed, common in Alzheimer's disease.

Prior to getting ill: I was living a very joyful life; Excellent health and energy, incredible sense of humor, a feeling of love that encompassed all of creation; I was not one to complain, even in the midst of problems, I felt blessed beyond measure; Hard worker, gentle, honest, prayerful life; Shared a lot; Raised 2 sons; Designed, developed, maintained the Budget, Allotment, Labor Distributions systems for the State of Washington; Given an award by the Governor for Outstanding Service to the State of WA; Designed and built 2 homes; Calligrapher, weaver, spinner, watercolorist, couture clothing designer, organic gardener, gourmet cook.

I enjoyed exceptional mental and physical health and never had a reason to go to the doctor. All of a sudden, found myself burning up on the inside, tremendous suffering, exhaustion, terror. Unable to get my job done, spending every minute that I wasn't at work, trying to recuperate so I could do my job. I increased my prayers, exercise, improved an already excellent diet. I tried everything, herbs, adaptogens, fasts, etc. I started avoiding people, even friends and family.

My sense of balance was bad, and my left ear was going deaf, felt like it was full of water. I went to my dentist, and all of a sudden I had serious periodontal disease (had always taken excellent care of my teeth). He told me that I was grinding my teeth away in the night. He sent me to another dentist, who scraped my teeth and pulled out my perfect wisdom teeth, ground down all my other teeth.

I went to doctors, acupuncturists, energy healers. Intent on getting well, and unable to find help, I enrolled and completed my first year of Naturopathic Medical School, but was too sick to return. I found myself unable to function adequately in any area of my life, terrible migraines, early menopause, sleeping all the time - so unlike the old me.

I had to quit my job. I lost all my relationships. I used up all my savings. I remember the day the root canal infection broke through into my brain. I woke in the morning and realized that Linda was gone. I started having the kind of nightmares that an insane person would have. Totally disoriented, I'd start the dishes and find myself upstairs, not knowing how I got there.

Pictures taken after that time look like a person with Alzheimer's disease - you can see a definite blankness. My eyes became badly infected and I was loosing my eyesight. My eyes felt like 2 hot coals.

I wandered around for a couple more years, always in terror and tremendous pain, thinking I had had a nervous breakdown. I was even wetting the bed at night. It was very difficult for me not to commit suicide. There are no words to express the suffering.

When (I feel) I was pretty close to dying, I went to the dentist for a cleaning, and when they cleaned my teeth, the tool went right through my jaw. He sent me to have the infected root canal removed, and said "By the way, don't commit suicide.", and I feel he knew that he had let the problem get by him. No compassion, no offer of help. The other dentist pulled the tooth. This was the dentist who pulled my wisdom teeth. He treated me with disdain, and I feel he knew that he had let the problem get by him.

I hoped to get better soon, but my system was too destroyed. I have been ill and poor ever since. I had experienced many difficult things in my life, and I never felt like a victim, but this has definitely left me with a victim feeling, and so much anger I have not as yet been able to transcend. I lost all the things of value in my life and experienced untold suffering.

I come from Spain and it all points out that I am also one of the many root canal sufferers. At the moment I am 37 years old and it seems that it all started 20 years ago, longer than half of my life. At the age of 17, presented as a wonderful technique to have fake teeth that you wouldn’t have to bother removing every night, I had four root canals done. I cannot exactly recall how later my health problems began but I guess no longer than a year after having finished with the dental procedure. I started feeling weird things on my nose, like a cold, tickles, and also bladder infections. Some time afterwards began what has been the symptom which has terribly marked my life: days of dizziness. I began visiting doctors who could not find a physical reason to explain my dizziness. I had to live with it. Seeing that traditional medicine gave me no solutions I turned to alternative medicine: homeopathy, herbs, and so on. Nothing helped. I just had to pretend to lead a normal life while many days that dizziness was with me. The pressure was such that I began having panic attacks and suffering from anxiety. Of course, I was a child, my body was complaining and there was nothing I could do to help it. I was so scared that during a couple of years I couldn’t even travel alone in a bus because I thought I would faint. I tried hard to figure out what triggered the dizziness, but I was unable to. I overcame the fear and said to myself that I should go on, that there was a life in front of me I had to enjoy. Dizziness was to be my eternal companion. So you learn to accept it and live with it. Years afterwards I began again to have the need to find a solution, yes I was living a life but what was the quality of it? I avoided groups of people, going out with friends, having fun, because dizziness would come any moment and would stay there for some days. In short, a very limited social life.

The following years I got diagnoses such as: General Anxiety Disorder, Phobic Dizziness, Depression and Agoraphobia. I agreed to take some anti-depressive pills though I was very reluctant saying to myself that I had nothing to lose. The result: I was less anxious but the symptoms remained. What was going on? They all said my own mind was the origin of my ill health. How? Why ? What was the reason? I constantly explained that there was something else, that there was something very physical going on. With all the courage I had given to my situation trying to overcome any mental problem, why my body was not feeling healthy?

So, in September 2002 I visited an acupuncturist, though skeptical, I still had hope. He said that according to acupuncture the problem lied in my kidneys, they were weak. I started a treatment with him. In February this year we both came to the conclusion that needles were not helping. He asked me (the first doctor in all these years) how my dental health was: I told him I had 4 root canals. Immediately he suggested that I should take a test of my immune system because he had the idea that there was some continuous flowing of toxin that prevented my kidneys from healing. So I took the test and the results indicated that effectively it was very low, my immune system had a lot of work. An that is the crucial point where I am now: taking injections to strengthen the immune system and waiting still for another 10 days to begin getting rid of the poison in my mouth. After all the information I have read in your magnificent site I am convinced I found the ROOT(s).

I'll keep you reported with my evolution and send whatever interesting information I find at the other side of the Atlantic.

01/30/03 Thank you for sharing your story. It has given me the courage to get my tooth pulled. I have been sick since December 9th when I had a root canal, and the tooth still hurts besides. They told me it was impossible to react to the material in the root canal but I think that is what happened to me. I have this awful bitter taste in my mouth that won't go away. I also have lingual nerve damage from the Novocain needles which causes my tongue to feel numb and like it was burned. What I mostly related to is the feeling that the doctors try to make you feel like you're crazy. I'm not crazy and I'm not a hypochondriac. Thanks again for sharing your story.

03/04/03 I had the tooth extracted and the pain is finally gone and I can chew again on the left side. The strangest thing is that my eczema disappeared all over, but of course none of the docs believe there is any connection.

I had eczema on the backs of my hands and between my fingers and it was seemingly crawling up my arms several inches. It was bright red and scaly. It was so bad, it kept me awake at night from the itching and burning. I also had eczema on my breasts. I noticed a huge improvement several days after the tooth extraction and within about a week the eczema was totally and completely gone. My hands look normal again.

Unfortunately, I still have lingual nerve damage and suffer from a tingling tongue, foul tastes in my mouth and a loss of taste on the left side of my mouth. Statistics say that 85% of folks recover from this nerve damage, so please pray for me. I am taking Klonopin for the nerve damage and it makes life bearable. Thanks again for sharing your story so I knew I wasn't crazy. I will NEVER have another root canal.

01/29/03 I had severe, chronic sinus infections for 9 years. Saw many ENT specialists, they could find nothing wrong with the sinuses. I basically felt like total crap every day unless I was on antibiotics. ENT's suggested surgery but since they could find nothing wrong I opted against the surgery. The Allergist said I was allergic to dust mites and he suggested allergy shots but I was concerned about possible toxic effects of the preservative used in the allergy shot so I opted against that too.

Last year I removed all my root canals (cavitation surgery). As the root canals were pulled, my sinuses cleared up. What was very OBVIOUS about the dental connection was that when the surgeon removed the left root canals, my left sinus cavities cleared up. The next month he removed the right side, and I got additional relief. I was then able to taper off antibiotics but still had some infection and still had a lot of days where I felt crappy. Then he removed the front root canals and Shizam! I have not had a sinus infection since! I am still allergic to dust and I sneeze every time I dust the house but no infection, and I feel great. The last cavitation surgery was in October and still .... no sinus infection .... I can breeze fully out of both nostrils which I had not done in years. I have noticed my sense of taste is much more pronounced now as well. It was probably numbed by the infection and/or metal in my mouth.

Also interesting: after each surgery, I was constantly blowing my nose for several days each time. Tons of sick-looking matter was coming out of the sinus cavities. Unbelievable !!!!

I too had lots of metal in my mouth and my MD recorded high electrical readings in my mouth. I also used to get electrical shocks year round when I would open doors with metal handles or anytime I got in and out of my car. Whenever I asked the dentist about it, he said it was the sole of my shoes, not my teeth. Since I got all the metal out of my mouth I have not been shocked once, even with our recent sub-zero temperatures and the heat running all the time, very dry inside but NO electrical shock !!

01/10/03 Recently I had my 4th quadrant surgery for Cavitations. I had known previous to that that I had Nanobacteria infection and had started the NanobacTX and been on it for 3 months. This time 2 bone samples were sent off to Medical Diagnostics Lab. Both were positive for Nanobacteria by PCR. I had had very large cavitations in all 4 quadrants and I believe that all would have had Nano in, as the Histological picture of all sites was the same.

I have had Hypercoagulation and severe CFS for 9 years. I have been on Heparin for 15 months without any real benefit. Since the final surgery my Fibrinogen levels have started to fall and I have been able to reduce the Heparin. I will have to stay on the NanobacTX for 9-12 months. I am cautiously optimistic! My CFS doctor is working with 4 dentists in Kansas City and is finding a lot of Nano in the dental biopsies of her very sick patients. Also she is finding Nanobacteria and Hypercoagulation in a high percentage of Fibromyalgia patients. Cleaning out the cavitations, treating with Heparin and NanobacTX has been VERY successful.

01/02/03 Today, I received an email about a lady recently diagnosed with MS, her left arm drawn, she had pain in the left side of her face, and vertigo so bad that she couldn't drive. She had tooth # 12 removed (had a root canal done 6 months prior to her diagnosis) and within 2 weeks she was normal.

11/05/02 Thank you so much for the time and effort you have put into your root canal site. After reading your pages, my husband and I went and had all of our root canals pulled. We feel so much better (although it is harder to chew some things now :-)). I no longer suffer from Fibromyalgia symptoms. My body was so tender that my husband was afraid to touch me. I am completely cured. Thanks to the information that YOU took the time to place on the internet.

10/19/02 "Don't get root canals, have the teeth pulled and the cavitations cleaned out. Once teeth are dead it is too late to do anything else that is safe.......Root canals are a recipe for future immune system break down..... Dead teeth are reserves of toxins and leak constant bacteria into your body. Read up, put off the work! I had three root canalled teeth pulled earlier this year and feel 20 years younger and my cancer is gone (without radiation or chemo)." excerpt from message number 75 of the yahoo Root Canal group. August 19, 2002

I had early stage cervical cancer, I was very run down but still dragging myself to work when I began making radical changes. I also did many other things than just my teeth. I followed Dr. Day's diet then moved to Dr. Mercola's (mercola.com) when I couldn't keep my weight and strength on a strict vegan diet, did many of Dr. Clarks recommendations for removing toxic things from ones home and body and use a zapper regularly, saw an oriental dentist who specializes in pain and TMJ and had all my crowned teeth replaced with plastics and rebalanced, as well as stress EFT and spiritual work. Since many cancers spontaneously go away, who is to know! What I do know is that the rest of me feels so much better since having the three root canalled teeth removed that I have no doubt that was what had pushed my immune system over it's limit. I also had fibromyalgia that has disappeared. By the way, I was quite out of it for some time after having the teeth removed ... very depressed and run down even though my mouth healed without complications. Probably cause I'd been poisoned and was slowly recovering as I detoxed. I didn't expect that! The first week I was unable to work but I was on vacation so that was okay. The second week I was able to work but came home each night and crashed. From then on I improved each week but didn't feel remarkably well for maybe six weeks though the aches and pains went away within a week. After that I suffered from dementia enough to scare me for months! Not sure if that was because I didn't detox from the mercury correctly or what, but in any case that went away eventually. What hasn't gone away are my horrible headaches that I have had since I was nine and I'm 47. Still trying to figure that out.

I try to tell people about the dangers of root canals, but it is a battle. People don't want to know. I see crippled folks on the street and in stores and want to ask them about their teeth, don't you!?

08/01/02 Bless your heart! To make a long story short, the dentists had me convinced that I was crazy. I kept having this tooth throb, hurt, pain up the side of my face and ear ache!!!! They x-rayed, battery tested the tooth said everything was okay, give it a few more weeks, weeks, went into months and finally after a year, I Said PULL IT! Well, they said they would rather do a root canal and save the tooth because nothing was wrong with it. They did the root canal against my better judgment and sure enough it was infected and stuff just flew from the tooth. Anyway, they did the root canal and a few hours after I left the dentist I was in more pain than when I went in. They said it would settle down, called in perkacet? pain killer, that only made me throw up and did not help, this went on for 4 days. The pain was KILLING ME! I said I am coming in and you're pulling the tooth, I went in they pulled the tooth and here the infection was SO BAD that it ate a hole through the root of the tooth, the dentist said they never saw anything like it in person only in the books! See I could taste all that nasty stuff they put into the root canal and they told me it was my imagination, well it wasn't because the stuff was going straight out the other end into my blood system. I must say it was like instant magic and the grace of God that I felt 100% better and like a new person!! My life changed, honestly I felt like I could think better and overall more energy. All I can say is know and understand your own body. This badly infected tooth NEVER showed up on x-rays or cat scans, I must say I went to ear, nose and throat and through all that stuff and nothing!!!! I am so thankful that it is out and over with.

Now, today as we speak, I am dealing with another tooth, I refused the root canal this time and had them pull it, but now I have been back four times because of bone spurs and infection in my face and ear. I tell you, I am ready to have them ALL extracted and get false ones. Any suggestions?

04/22/02 My husband went to the dentist who is changing his dental fillings to a composite. He looks 10 years younger tonight and his skin tone and breath are great. He feels so good already and his voice has such good energy. He had an infected tooth which the dentists did not see. This tooth probably was infected for years. It was amazing what came out with the extraction of the far back upper right tooth. It had two sacks of pus which the dentist showed us and more pus around the tooth.

My husband said when the tooth was pulled the nastiest smell came off of it. The dentist replaced all of the mercury fillings on his right side and we will go back again this week for the left side to be revised. Thanks for having that informative, helpful website which pulls together the best information on solving the dental mysteries.

05/02/02 My husband is doing so well since his new dental work. On Monday morning he put on his hat and it was too big for him. He is going to get a smaller hat. Imagine the swelling that was going on. I can't thank you enough for the information you put on your website.

I'd just to comment on this "conventional good condition" and warn anyone with root canals about my experience. I had a RC done in Feb 00. In March my health took a turn for the worst, it was so bad I had to take several weeks off work to recover. While I made some recovery I never really got better and for the past two years I have been what I term "going through the motions" About six months after the RC was done I noticed it was sore when I applied pressure to it in the morning when I woke up. Some mornings were more painful than others but it always showed some degree of pain. Then slowly the gum around the top of the tooth got sore. The sore gum remained, it was confined to the point where the tip of gum finished on the tooth AND only on one side, NOT both sides. Then I noticed that before I got a cold or flu it would become more painful when I applied pressure in the morning and sometimes it would ache during the day. At this point I become concerned.

Let me summarize the symptoms;
Sore when pressure applied
Sore gum on one side and
More pronounced pain before cold or flu

I went to see my dentist and asked him about it. He did a general inspection and took an x-ray. Nothing showed up, it looked perfectly normal. He told me that any problems will always show up on the x-ray and I had nothing to worry about. I went away and told myself to forget it *a big mistake* The symptoms continued and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't forget it. My health had deteriorated since that RC was put in and I kept wondering if it had some part to play. I decided to seek a second opinion from another dentist who specializes in the Huggins protocols. He also x-rayed the tooth and found nothing wrong. He advised me to leave it but offered no
explanation for the sore gum or the pain in the periodontal roots.

At this stage I was quite confused with this "VERY DECEPTIVE PROBLEM" I say this because the pain would vary, sometimes it was really sore for several days and other times it would feel nearly normal. My dentist had told me it was a very important tooth and I should do everything possible to look after it. I might add at this point I had read Hal Huggins and many other papers on RC's I was beginning to have serious doubts in my mind.

So in January (nearly two years later) I went back to my dentist to have it checked "again."
This time he did the following; Drilled out the filling and checked to top of the roots for cracks (negative)
Carried out a series of pressure tests (negative)
X-rayed again (negative)
He drilled down the tooth so I couldn't bite it at night and filled it with a temporary filling.

He told me to go away and forget about it because the X-ray would show up any problems and it was perfect. Now I couldn't bite down on it in the morning to carry out the pressure test so I got a felt pen and used that instead. Nothing had changed, still sore when I applied pressure. Two more months of indecision went by then finally I decided to remove it. I was influenced some what by other members of this group and Andrew Lane's comments and advise helped me clarify the decision. My dentist couldn't believe how badly it was infected, he said the x-rays normally show it up. It was the outside roots, the one I complained about, the infection was so bad it was wearing away the jaw bone and the tip of the root itself. You could see the root filling starting to protrude out of the end as the root tip disintegrated. Honestly, its amazing what was happening.

You can draw any conclusions you like from this but here is what I think;
There is NO safe root canals (no ifs or buts)
X-rays will not *always* show up a problem despite what some dentists believe
What Hal Huggins has to say in his book is "Exactly Correct" my experience
confirms this without doubt.
In some cases a root canal might appear ok but that's because your immune
system is "holding it in check" don't be fooled by this.
Any root canal will eventually lead to some disease at some point in your
life. How much is your life actually worth ?

I've only had it out two weeks and already I'm making progress, I will keep
you all informed as time goes on.

Best Regards
Peter Stidolph, NI, New Zealand.

01/28/02 I just read your article abscessed tooth. I have had at least 6 root canals. I am always tired, I am always having problems with my teeth. Your comment about pressure in your head... I have had a neck pain and the back of my head has hurt for the last 3 years. I am also riddled with jaw pain from time to time. Thanks for writing that piece. How do you find and convince a dentist to remove BAD teeth? I now have an abscessed tooth that my new dentist is removing. The only reason he is removing it, is because over 3/4 of the tooth is gone. I wish you could see this filling that came out of that tooth. I cannot believe a dentist could even remotely feel comfy on inserting a filling this large. The tooth should have been pulled years ago.

01/29/02 My teeth are all but falling out and have been for the last 25 to 30 years. Fillings fall out after a year or 2, abscessed teeth at the rate of about 2 every 3 years, my teeth crack and splinter, yet every dentist I have ever been to saves the tooth and saves the tooth and saves the tooth until it is worn so far down that I nearly need oral surgery to have it extracted. I am just so sick of this and want someone who agrees with me for a change. Thank you so much for emailing me a response and thanks again for your article... it was very eye opening.

01/22/02 I've been sick for thirteen years. Nobody seemed to know why. I've looked for cures everywhere and been diagnosed with CFS, Candida, allergies, food intolerance, parasites, heavy metal poisoning...you name it. I met someone who'd been sick for six years because of the amalgam fillings in his head so I looked into dentistry.

I didn't have much amalgam so wasn't that hopeful of finding an answer but I knew that just before I got sick I'd had about six months of intensive dentistry including root canal fillings. Then I hit your site!

I couldn't believe it. Then I discovered Root Canal Cover Up. I went to a dentist who specialized in looking at health problems derived from teeth and he discovered a big black space in my jaw directly under one of the root canal fillings. This, after all these years, could be the problem. I want the tooth out and the toxins cleared but he's now talking about the difficulty with nerves in that area of the mouth and the problems that could cause.

I'm not at all sure why I'm writing this except to hear something from someone who's gone through the same thing and you seem to be that person. I live in Northern Ireland and the number of dentists who recognize or admit to recognizing this problem is tiny. I just know I've found the answer but would like to hear from a fellow sufferer.

I now have an appointment to have the tooth removed and the cavitation cleared out in two weeks time. The dentist is familiar with all the recent work on the matter and seems to know what he's talking about.

Unfortunately I have three other root canal fillings which seem O.K. on X ray but as we know this really doesn't prove anything, I've seen the meridian charts and my new dentist has an even more elaborate version but it doesn't really seem to work for me. John

01/12/02 A new wrinkle has popped up in my bizarre health story. Three years ago, just after the truth about what happened to me started coming out, I asked my new dentist to check out one last root canal in my lower right jaw. I explained the symptoms to him and he referred me to an oral surgeon.

As I told you before, I had been getting test after test and was seeing two specialists for my health problems. One of those tests was an MRI of the brain. It was this test that finally lead a neurologist to rule out the original diagnosis of MS given me in 1984. It was also the x-rays that I took to the oral surgeon.

My wife and I went to the appointment with the MRI. In a brief and brusque appointment, we were told that everything looked fine and that there was nothing he could do for me. As you might imagine we went away completely frustrated and then began a three year journey with repeated infections and antibiotics. My brain "slows down" as the infection asserts itself to the point that I don't recognize that I'm sick. By the time I know something is wrong I can not walk across the yard without getting short of breath. But once on the antibiotics I respond within 24 hours. I'm sure you know the story.

After that last consultation with the oral surgeon I was so psychologically traumatized that I refused to see any more doctors. My wife would call our family doctor when I got sick and he would call in the prescription. They had a discussion about my repeated infections and he told her that it would probably be a lifetime problem. At any rate, I promised my wife to go back to the doctors once I reached fifty and I did. Last week I went back to the doctor's office for the first time in three years. Ironically it was just after my six month dental appointment. This is where the newest chapter really begins.

The truth about what had happened to me finally started to come out four years ago. I was so angry that I sought legal advice. The lawyer sent me to a dentist I had never met. He was the one who discovered the major infection site surrounding the N2 root canal that had invaded my sinus cavity. He referred me to specialists and followed my case closely. He became my dentist even though his office is an hour away from my home. About a year after we first me, this dentist died suddenly. Out of loyalty and gratification I continued to go to his practice after a new dentist took over. I went faithfully for my six month cleanings and never had a cavity.

But this last appointment was different. No, they didn't find a cavity. But the new hygienist saw that I was past due for a full series of x-rays. I had the time so she took them that day. When the results came back there was some hushed talking between the hygienist and the dentist. It turned out that here was visible evidence of an infection under the root canal mentioned above. We all looked at the x-ray just taken and one taken three years earlier. Guess what? That's right the infection was present then and now showed a bigger area of involvement. And I had been on antibiotics for three weeks. They decided to send the x-rays to an endodontist for review and then they were going to call me with an action plan.

This was just before Christmas. When we hadn't heard anything by New Year my wife called his office. She was told that the endodontist said everything looked good; that the infection was "smaller" than it had been three years earlier. That didn't feel anything needed to be done. You can imagine how my wife and I felt.

So, that brought me to my visit with my doctor. I explained the situation and he decided to order the MRIs I mentioned above. When he wrote the order for the MRIs I asked, "Why order two, the brain and right jaw?" His answer might as well have cut the floor out from under me.

"The brain pictures won't have the right angle to get a reliable look at the jaw."

Three years ago the oral surgeon used a brain MRI to tell me that everything was okay. In reality he could not have seen anything relevant to the root canal and infection by looking at that set of films and he should have known that.

So that is the up to the minute report. I am off the antibiotics for the moment. If history repeats itself, I'll be back on within ten days or so. But I will get the new MRIs and then we will go from there. (This same person wrote me in 1999, about his root canal done with N2, read below. MY)

09/20/99 You clearly have taken a lot of trouble to research your illness and you already have two of the best pieces of documentation available on the subject. It is difficult to tell whether your root canal was poorly done or if you had one done using something called N2.

If it was N2 then more than an infection could have been involved and you might want to dig deeper. N2 has as its primary active component formaldehyde. If that was used and it got into your system as it did mine you could well have had a greater assault to your immune system then you know. N2 is also known as Sargenti Paste.

The American Association of Endodontists has come out against this technique since 1991 but literature critical of the material goes back to the 1960s and beyond. Formaldehyde has proven to be a cellular mutagenic and a carcinogenic and if you were exposed to it you should tell your primary care physician.

As you have found out, most doctors have never heard of the health risks associated with root canals. Even after being told about the problem my doctor is hard pressed to accept the reality. Even now he is sending me to a neurologist again hoping to confirm the original diagnosis of MS. I am going along with this as I believe it is the only way of breaking through his denial.

I have been having trouble with losing the weight that multiple steroid courses put on. And I suffer from a number of allergies acquired when my immune system was under assault.

The recurrent nature of your ear (infection) symptoms sounds suspiciously like NICO. This is also talked about in Dr. M's book. What information I have been able to find suggests that there probably
is no satisfactory way of dealing with this problem and that recurrent infections are likely long term.

I am sure you have done extensive web searching on this but you might look under the N2/Sargenti and under endodontics and dental malpractice for further information. Also, I have discovered a link between formaldehyde and aspartame (nutri-sweet). This product metabolizes in you system and breaks down into wood alcohol and formaldehyde. If you are still experiencing any dizziness and fatigue you might try eliminating any of this chemical from your diet.

01/11/02 I have been searching for the cause of these problems I have been having lately, I have been so overwhelmed...I had a root canal done a couple years ago, actually they only did half and then my dental ins. was canceled on us and I never had it finished. My health has been terrible and I tell my husband things and he hears so many different problems from me he probably thinks I'm crazy. Last week I noticed a lump behind my left ear and I started thinking it was from my infected tooth which led me to your web-site which led me to why I'm having so many other problems such as anxiety disorder which I have been put on Paxil for, I can't seem to think clearly, ear infections, stomach problems, you name it...I will be making an appt. today to have this tooth removed and I REALLY want to thank you so much, I feel like this just may give me my life back. Thank you so much....

12/25/01 I was reading your article and I found it to be so much help and such a relief. I'm only 19 years old and I had a root canal done a year ago and was about to get another 2 done very soon. I've had pain where the root canal was done and when I went back to the dentist to let him know, he just said that there was nothing wrong with it and that it was the other tooth that was causing the pain. Till this day I still feel the pain there but I am use to it. Also the gum right above the root canal is red and swollen I just thought it was suppose to be that way b/c of the root canal. I also feel a lot of pressure where the root canal is and at the back of my head all the time which I can't deal with anymore. The pain never never fails. The headaches could be from the root canal and I am very strongly considering getting it pulled out. I sleep so much just so that I don't feel the pain. I'm am so scared that it can lead to other things as well. I'm 19 years old and in college and these teeth of mine is really getting in the way of living my life...................................... What does the dentist put in place of the root canal after the root canal is pulled or is it just left an empty space?.....The reason why I ask is b/c I have very weak teeth...when I was only 5 years old I had caps on all my jaw teeth and definitely have to get 2 more root canals done and already have a missing tooth on my bottom right jaw that's why I'm so scared....PLEASE write back asap b/c I want to know your opinion on this.....I've always hated going to the dentist and put it off and now I'm glad that I have b/c if not I would of already gotten the 2 other root canals done by now, Thanks you some much and for your time..........

12/14/01 Thank you for sharing your story. I thought I was going crazy until I found there are people out there who suffered illness after a root canal. I had my root canal in Oct 2000, since that time I have suffered severe pain in my entire body. My arms ache, I feel pressure in my calves and toes. I've had a pressure in my ears constantly, and the ENT could not see any problems. Many MDs I spoke to and asked them to test me for dental poison told me to go to a dentist for that, then the dentists said my symptoms sounded like a medical problem and to see an MD. Everyone passes the buck!! I'm still searching but have found an organization that said they can help me. They are the leading experts in this area of dental related diseases. Please send them your story too. DAMS, Inc. 1701 Buffalo Dancer Tr. NE Albuquerque, NM 87112-4808 PH# 1-800-311-6265 Thank you for your strength and willingness to find some answers to this "nightmare." Your efforts will help many other people. God bless you.

12/13/01 Hi Melanie. I have another story for you. I had my root canal (my first one) in July 2001. Starting the next day, I developed burning and pain in my esophagus, low grade fever, dizziness, and horrible muscle cramping in my neck. The muscle cramping still gets so bad, I feel as though I will pass out. I've gone to specialists like ENT, GI, cardiologist, oral surgeon, neurologists, GYN, vascular surgeon, DO, chiropractor, and 3 physical therapists. I've had tests like MRI, 3 CAT scans, 3 x-rays, lots of blood tests, echocardiogram, spinal tap, and a thyroid uptake scan. Blood tests do not show bacteria in my system. I am at the end of my rope and my symptoms are not going away. I've been told that the reason I feel like I will pass out is because the muscles in my neck cramp and press on my carotid artery decreasing my blood flow to my head. I am having a LOT OF TROUBLE finding a dentist or oral surgeon who will pull my tooth. Do you know of any Drs. anywhere who are familiar with root canal problems and will pull the tooth? I am desperate! I will travel anywhere even though I live in Virginia. Thank you for your very helpful website! I appreciate any help you can give me.

The GYN problems that I am having are bad cramping in my pelvis and pain in my ovaries. My legs and feet are also starting to go numb. I had the root canal on tooth #29. An oral surgeon looked at it today and said that it looked fine (of course). I forgot, I also saw 2 endocrinologists and 16 different ER Drs. along with those other specialists I mentioned and I have been given about 30 different medicines since my root canal in July. If a tooth can contain bacteria that gets into your system, why doesn't the bacteria show up on blood tests? No one can explain that one to me. Anyway, thank you for all your help. It means so much to know I'm not crazy and that others have had root canal problems too. Can't wait to find someone to pull this tooth!

12/12/01 Hi Melanie! and Thanks for sharing. Your website is Fantastic!!! Like you I recently had an abscess in my tooth (#13) and the solution was: Root canal or tooth extraction. Thanks to your website I start educating myself on root canals so I decide to go with the tooth extraction. Today Tuesday the eleven my tooth was extracted successfully and I feel much better especially my heart which was starting to feel like there was something wrong with it. I kept the extracted tooth as a souvenir took a look at it and I'm telling you this tooth was so rotten that I said to myself what in the world this dentists are thinking doing root canals with such rotten teeth plus what they charge for it I think is criminal. Anyway I was going to ask you: Once the tooth is extracted Do you wait for the hole to seal itself? Do you put any medication on the hole? I ask my dentist about this and he said that he cleaned the area pretty well but that no medication was necessary in the hole. He said the antibiotics and my bloodstream will take care of it. Thanks again and Merry Christmas to you and your family!!!!!

11/11/01 I read your story and have been learning about my own health on pc because I suspect three of my root canals are culprit to failing health. My physicians think I need Prozac too. Ten years of severe migraines and chronic pain after having these teeth supposedly fixed is killing me. I recently spent $1800.00 having all three retreated and had no pain for five months! Now pain and headaches are coming back full force. Dr. finally suspects lupus but I suspect 3 teeth.

02/01/02 Melanie I wrote to you earlier after reading your story. I have had migraines, muscle spasms in neck, ear problems, aches and pains for ten years. The migraines were disabling me for days at a time. I went to the expense of retreating these root canals last year. I did improve somewhat after re-treatment. There was enough improvement that I wasn't wishing to die at least. With such improvement I then knew it was the teeth. The endodontist asked me to give the teeth a year to heal. I did this. I made the decision to remove the one on the right side. Now I am so angry! Immediately I felt better, even with stitches in my mouth. Its been two weeks and all pain on that side of my body is gone. No muscle spasms, no sign of headaches, no tight feeling of pain over my right eye, great ear improvement on that side of my body. With such relief on this side, I cannot wait to have the two on the left side out. Same old symptoms persist on the left side. How strange! I must tell you that I could not help but to bring this tooth home and examine it. I wanted to see what had almost did me in. I was shocked to see metal on the tip end of those roots. I'm not an expert on root canals but it looked as if the dentist had drilled right through the end of the root, I suppose this was the opening for all sorts of infection and inflammation consuming my body. I also was offered Prozac, told it was my nerves and treated as though I was crazy by many Drs. I went to physical therapy, suddenly had positive ANA, skin problems. I can't wait to see if this improves with removal of the other teeth. I will let you know. Glad you are better and thanks for sharing.

02/02/02 I sure am feeling much better, thanks for caring. I would be glad for you to use the info. about my teeth. I too thought I would never find any sort of relief until I read all your stories and still I couldn't imagine such a silly thing as teeth causing such devastating problems. I will have second tooth removed on Feb 14. What a valentine gift that will be!

That's a fact, Jack! Before I got my dental reconstruction, I had to seriously look into that matter, since I had 7 root canal teeth, and my dentist wouldn't do a full-mouth reconstruction on anyone with root canals (the idea being that at the end of the reconstruction, your health would be better!). Weston Price is the main man on that subject. He published two huge volumes (700-800 pages each) on all the experiments he did. It's some amazing stuff.

I got the teeth extracted. I took one of them to the lab, which cultured it and found it to be clean. Then I told them to cut it in half and culture the inside. It was loaded with Candida albicans! And jeez, real "mysteriously" after that my chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic Epstein-Barr went away.

4/7/01 I'm a 33 year old male that's been through the same as you!!!! But I'm now waiting to get it pulled. It's been a year now!!! 12 doctors, 3 oral surgeons and a fist full of bills later. I also thought it was my tooth causing the troubles all along but doctors said no way, that's not it. I've been off work a year now, and all doctors said there was nothing wrong. But I was suffering from sinus infections, eye pain, vertigo and spells of nausea on and off in a day, and stomach being touchy for no reason, it didn't make since for what I ate. I also had sinus surgery that didn't help. They even went as far as to say I have Menieres disease, but I passed their tests, so then they said I was at the beginning stages. So we'll see what the out come will be...gut feeling was that it was the tooth because all the problems started with a root canal. My root canal is number 15, that's upper left back, my question for you is did you have a lot of dizziness problems??? and eye pressure...with me all the problems are on the side with the root canal.

4/19/01 It's been a week now since I got the tooth pulled my sinuses are changing, they're draining more at the time like they use to a year ago ...and its looking a change to the better.. I'm getting more done around in the house .. bit more energy also .. I still have one root canal left .. I going to try and get that one redone in a couple of weeks ..Here so far it's looking like I'm on to something .. They told me the root canal I have left is in the spot were it causes ear pain which I still have .. its lower left second from the back ... have you ever heard of teeth causing ear pain ??? I might of ask that before .. anyway time will tell all .. it's unreal if the root canals are to blame for my troubles...its been a heck of a roller coast ride for me one I don't want to repeat .... and yes all 9 doctors will get papers from me, telling them what was going on because they didn't know anything, lets say I will enlighten them with some wisdom : ) take care

6/19/01 Its been a month and a half sense I got the tooth pulled and I have noticed antibiotics are helping now (I'm feeling better but still have bad days ), which they never did before. But I'm still have sinus trouble I'm now getting shots of antibiotics .. it's helping but it very slow ... I'm thinking its going to take a while to get this infection and what ever else that in my system out .. my question is have you found that it takes this long to get infection from root canals out of your system. as I had one root go up in to the tissue of my sinuses. I was fighting sinus trouble eye and ear pain for a year now.

09/25/01 Now I have been still fighting sinus infections, vertigo .. still believe it was from that upper tooth I got pulled. But now I got the bottom root canal worked on .. Guess what the dentist that did that root canal about 9 years ago ... he broke the files off in there in 2 roots you know the files they use to clean the inside root out ... and they were still in there... and the root canal the endodonist said tooth was leaking for years .. it was bad !!!!!!!! Now I [have] seen 1 dentist and 3 endodonist .. and 3 oral surgeons and they said this root canal was fine (why were they so wrong) .. well finally my sinuses [are] better or good enough so I could get this other one worked on ..and this might be the problem root canal !!!!!! feeling better .. but I think it's going to take some time . now my question is ... what would be the symptoms of a root canal 19# with files in it leaking for years .????? are these files stainless steel ??? when he pulled the files out you could see the rust like on them :( and my ear instantly felt a bit better .. but still dealing with milder better than before ear pain ..and sinus infection .. just thought I would share my finding with ya as I find it pretty wild I could have such a rotten root canal and all said it was fine . Until I just told them to retreat it anyway glad I only have 1 root canal left this one hope the retreat works . .. thanks for any input

01/05/02 I have a story to tell ya about my findings ... I sent you a e-mail before awhile ago ... I was having sinus troubles .. and dizziness, ear ache ... I got one root canal pulled and another one retreated because dentist left long files . in two of the roots without them being sealed. (for over 9 years) the endodonist couldn't believe it anyway I got that one retreated and after it was done .. I felt lots better for about 2 months ..and now all at once all the symptoms came back all the same as before ... and I was going to a TMJ specialist (because that was were the dentist sent me) and when I went in there .. I was telling him what he was doing is making things worse ... so he was feeling around my neck and he found a lump under my chin which had loads of pain and it was under my retreated root canal .. so back to the endodonist we go ... this has been a 2 year battle .. trying to figure out ..what was wrong with me . I do believe I am on to the one thing that's causing all my problems ... but we won't know for sure till it gets pulled ... now here a wild question for ya .. when I get it pulled where can I take it and have it tested to tell me what bacteria is in there? because its one nasty deal .... and I want to know .. its unbelievable what they can do to a person those root canals . and see so many specialist the list is so long .. this would be 2 pages long . anyway what your doing is great keep that web site going . ;) and yes I read the book on root canal cover up all as I can say is imagine that !!!! How many people that have lived with pain for years because of root canals ... see you can't feel them and dentist say there alright and there's nothing wrong ( they're all red and sore ) .... and the general public believes them ... yeah what a deal .... thanks for the website .. and please let me know where I can get my pulled out tooth tested .. I betting if I had it tested ... we would reveal another cover up :) take care

01/21/02 I got my root canal pulled a week ago and I just start to feel a whole lot better. And I thought I would write ya e-mail on what I just found...when I went to the oral surgeon to get it pulled I have all my old x-rays in hand...and I took them to the surgeon...and I took them home when I was done...and I was sitting here looking them all over...and I notice on one x-ray taken a year ago, you could see a crack along the one side in the x-ray it was one of those fancy x-ray where it's like a print out. So I have my old tooth here because I told them I wanted it and looked at the tooth and then the x-ray and where the crack was on the tooth, it was darker where the crack was on x-ray meaning the crack was there for a long time...Now it's getting pretty bad when an untrained eye can see this...meaning a year ago my endodontist should have seen it was cracked. Instead I went through a $650 retreat on a tooth that was already cracked. Besides being sick and the number of specialists...now have you ever ran across a case this bad? To sum it up I lost $100,000 in wages and tons of doctor bills for a cracked root canal that was making me so sick...also have you ever heard of anyone having kidney pain from root canals just wondering...thanks for all your info and at this point I can't afford to send it in for testing....keep the site going you are informing the people better than their own dentist, keep up the great work.

2/5/01 I have just had my first root canal and had a crown put in on top of it. I am experiencing tremendous pain and feel sick all over. I just read the article about root canal cover-ups. Would you suggest I get it pulled now before more problems develop? Will they pull it on request? I spent a lot of money to be this miserable. I went back to my dentist and he put me on antibiotics. I don't feel this is good for my body, either. I wish I had seen that article before I had the root canal done. I'm just now researching the subject since I've had so much pain. I had the root canal done about a month ago.

2/6/01 I had my tooth pulled yesterday. You were right that the dentist did NOT want me to do that. I insisted and said I *was* going to do it and needed a referral. All my insurance had been used up to get the root canal, crown, and all the follow up work. Thankfully, the extraction was not a huge amount of money at all. I feel like a new woman today....so extremely happy I had it pulled. The assistant to the oral surgeon told me that the infection in the root canal tooth was actually at the root and that if I had waited a little longer, the infection would have eaten a hole in my mouth!!!!!!! No wonder I was so sick and so tired all the time. My poor body! Unfortunately, I read on the internet about the bad effects of root canals AFTER it had already been performed. It was my first one. I will never ever opt to have one again. Thanks again for taking the time to reply to my desperate e-mail...I was in SO much pain when I wrote.

12/7/00 Just wanted to let you know my story about [a] root canal. I had one done several years ago and had no idea they were dangerous. Well, actually I ended up with 5, anyway the one tooth broke as I did not have a cap put on afterwards and I went to the dentist to have it pulled today, since it was beyond repair and low and behold the tooth was infected and the root was being reabsorbed and there was this squishy bulbous tear dropped shaped thing on the side on the root and near the bottom that came out attached to the tooth that my new dentist said was a huge infection and that I was lucky it came out attached to the tooth like it did! No wonder I felt lousy and abnormally tired for years! The root canal didn't do anything but remove the pain but the infection continued. I wish I would have known before hand.

12/4/00 Two years ago I had my first root canal. I developed pericarditis and an enlarged heart, extreme crippling pain in my legs, inflamed esophagus, and severe anxiety attacks. I have been trying to get answers from all kinds of doctors, but to no avail. A month ago, I had a periodontal scaling. Within two weeks, I developed pericarditis. My dentist has a new assistant and he told me about Dr. Meinig's book, "Root Canal Cover-up." After reading his book, I called him and feel excited that someone understands what I've been through. Before all this, I was a very healthy person. I did not even get colds. I am having the root canal tooth removed this Wednesday. I will let you know the outcome.

12/9/00 I had my tooth removed on Wednesday. My dentist's assistant told me that if the dentist recommended only to have the tooth removed two years ago, he could have lost his license. The American Dental Association does not recognize this theory as acceptable. He therefore had to recommend an endodontist and when my physical problems started up he probably felt he couldn't say anything negative towards the root canal procedure. I will be going to my cardiologist this Tuesday to see if there is an improvement to the fluid in my pericardium. I don't think I will ever be the same, but at least I have hope there will be improvement of my health.

12/13/00 I visited my cardiologist yesterday and he feels my pericarditis has improved. He still will not accept the theory about my root canal. I plan to purchase Dr. Meinig's book and give it to him along with other "Professional doctors" I have encountered along this dark path of the last two years.

3/29/00 I have IC (interstitial cystitis, a bladder condition often associated with vulvodynia) and vulvodynia and fibromyalgia. I have done lots of alternative work, and many dentists and docs are saying my root canal infection could be the culprit. Have been researching big time, read root canal cover up, and a book another ICer wrote about cavitations and IC. I had a root canal done ten years ago three times because continued to hurt. Dentist said it is probably infected, call me if you ever need penicillin. AHHHHHHH!!!! Now I know what this can cause. Had test done...assay test on a capped tooth and found it too is infected. Problem is it has moved to all over the jaw. Can't go getting all teeth removed. This is major surgery, digging out bone, and into sinus, most docs won't do it this deep but the specialist said if you don't, problem will remain.

11/26/99 This sounds so familiar. I was so young at the time of my root canals & was pressured to return to work. One of my root canals was done over. That specific area of my jaw & in between my teeth still hurts. My new dentist is great, but doesn't see anything that shows up on the x-rays except the root canals--meaning there could be a hair line fracture or whatever. I don't want to think about it; but this was the time I started getting migraine headaches & now TMJ.

10/29/99 Forum: sci.med.dentistry
Thread: One Person's Story
Posted by: DivaLove

Story of developing epilepsy after placement of amalgam fillings, a deep amalgam filling fell out and the seizures stopped.

Someone (who shall remain nameless) sent me the following case report of what happened with her mother before and after removal of amalgam fillings:

I believe it is possible for 2 fillings to cause problems. My mother-in-law was a "nut" case for years, in and out of the psychiatric hospital, at least 3-4 times per year for 30 days. I took her and had 3 small amalgam fillings removed and she started becoming a totally different person within 24 hours. She never had to be hospitalized again. If that can happen to a completely formed adult, what can happen to a developing child?

10/06/99 Your story and mine are so similar it's not even worth mentioning. I went to the dentist for a root canal. The procedure was performed and I have continued to have problems since. Everything seems to be the same except I had the tooth extracted. Several hours later, I began to feel better, however, the symptoms came back and although they aren't as extreme as before, I am still experiencing that feeling like something in the top/middle/back of my head is gnawing away and I can't do anything about it. I continue to experience heat, intermittent pain in the tooth behind the extracted root canal tooth, pressure in my head, and even cognitive problems with my speech.

I'm having problems articulating my words. It seems when I take Amoxicillin for 10 days, the problems subside for the most part, but they reoccur after 7-10 days post the antibiotics. When I take antibiotics, I'm almost sharp as a tack. When I stop taking them, I start sounding jumbled, mixed up, and can't express my thoughts the way I want to, even though I can think the thoughts clearly. I thought I was getting MS. (Note: I was working for the MS Society when all this started. My boss thinks that I was faking my illness.) Seems like I can't get my life back on track because of this chronic feeling of being hot, pressure in my head, ears plugged and everything sounds distant, etc. I'm going to see my dentist, I'm sure he's going to tell me I'm crazy or something. I've been going through this for about 4 years now.

10/6/99 I have a serious problem. I've been sick many years now and I can't go on anymore. They even put me, a few years ago in a mental institute because they were saying I was making up my pain and multiple symptoms, but after a blood check they released me because it proved that I was really sick.

Now my doctor diagnosed me with blood poisoning due to the mercury in my amalgams. I had all the possible tests and everything else is fine. I can't describe here all my physical symptoms and pain but I have a lot of them and I've been suffering for many years now. I lost everything. I was a great student with a great future in front of me, now I'm becoming more weak each month and I can't even get out of my house or do stuff like before. I don't know what to do. I lost many pounds and I was on medication for the pain, but I stopped it after a few weeks because the effects were not enough. Now my liver seems to be affected and my heart too, because I have high pressure.

My doctor said that I need to replace my amalgams with those with no mercury in it, but I can't afford to pay the near $1000 fee for the intervention because I have a lot of them. It's strange my medical insurance was paying for putting poison in my mouth and now that I'm sick they don't want to cover the charges.

I don't know what to do. I made some suicide attempts because the pain is too much to take. Unfortunately, I'm still here, I'm pale and yellow and the blood test I had last week showed that my bilirubine is at 63 now and the normal is near 14.

My question: Would pulling your teeth be any cheaper than replacing the amalgam?

Yes, in fact it would be a good choice and I thought of it because my medical insurance would pay everything if I would be pulling my teeth instead of replacing the amalgams. The problem is that my dentist does not want to do it. She said that she does not want to pull any teeth that are still in perfect health or condition. Even after giving her the certificate of my diagnosis, that I had blood poisoning due to my amalgams, she did not want to proceed to pulling my teeth.

I tried all the dentists in my local area and they all said the same thing. I don't know what to do anymore because I'm very afraid and I think it's too late because my last visit to the doctor for my results was not good. It's hard for me to deal with all of this. My heart and pressure seems to be in a dangerous state. My doctor said that he doesn't think this will make me die. He said that I need to learn to live with the symptoms if I can't afford the intervention. I would like to see him live with these symptoms and experience them for only one day, the same symptoms I have everyday for many years now!

I can afford it, if they would allow me to pay an amount each month, instead of the full amount in one time, but this won't work anywhere I went. Now almost all my money goes to my medications and I can't find any way of having any more credit to help me.

But even if I would have intervention right now my doctor said it would take a long recovery time until the mercury is completely out of my system (because my liver is affected) and he recommends to go to the hospital after to have my blood filtered with "serum." But after 3 months of that I should have a normal life again for a 23 year old person. Right now I'm pretty limited, I can't even get out of my house, seems I'm 90! It's sad, I was a great student with a promising future and the illness struck.

The proof that mercury is my problem is my bilirubine and I also had an x-ray of my mouth that clearly shows some "leaking" from the amalgams. Not a lot but enough to be the cause of my problems. I don't know why dentists in my area don't want to pull our teeth. For myself it should correct my problem and give me back my health.

10/1/99 I have a friend who's son-in-law died from an abscessed tooth years ago. The infection went to his heart, he was only in his 20's, worked in construction and was to macho to go to a Dr. when he started feeling bad and in about 3 weeks, he was gone. They said the abscess got in his blood stream and then went to his heart.

10/1/99 Yes a bad tooth can cause a lot of health problems. When I was in my early 20's a dentist said I should have my wisdom teeth removed. I made the appointment and he pulled the 2 uppers and had to cut out the lower right one (yes, he left the lower left one in) well, I never had so much pain. I am one of the lucky (?) folk who develop dry sockets when a tooth is pulled.

To make a long story short I decided to leave the remaining wisdom tooth alone as it was not causing pain or another problem (or so I thought). After my second child, 4 years after the wisdom teeth extraction, I started having bladder infections, since my father had been diagnosed with bladder cancer, it seemed reasonable that's a weakness I inherited.

Well for 17 years I suffered the infections, had bladder dilations done, all kinds of great stuff. Some time in the late 80's I had a dentist tell me the last wisdom tooth had to come out as it was abscessed and draining into my body. Still no pain in the jaw though, made appointment with Oral Surgeon. Had the tooth and some small amount of jaw bone removed, yes also developed a dry socket, but knew immediately what it was (the clot washes away and exposes the nerve to air). After the tooth was removed I have never had another bladder infection and that has been at least 15 years ago!!!!!!

9/7/99 Years ago my mother had a root canal job. For years (9) after that she suffered from what the doctors called Trigeminal Neuralgia, just as you say. She kept going back to the dentists and asking them to remove the tooth but they wouldn't. She ended up having THREE surgeries ON HER BRAIN to try to get the pain to go away. They told her she should not have any pain, in fact, that she should have no feeling at all, but she continued to have pain. Everyone, including her family and friends, calls her a hypochondriac.

Finally after insisting on it, she had all her teeth removed. Guess what? No more pain.

8/30/99 My Rheumatoid factor is (or was) 380!! So rare, no doctor could help me. I just had my root canal tooth removed 1 hour ago. I've been sick for 2 years and my mom kept on reminding me it all started when I got my teeth fixed. I thought it was the mercury, we tested that and I'm ok. I kept telling the dentist the tooth hurt, he said that the x-rays say it's fine, no infection. Well I was up all night w/pain and ice packs. Today I called and sure enough the infection showed up on the x-ray 2 years later, I insisted pull in now!!

9/9/99 I had $5000.00 worth of dental work done before I got sick. The tooth (molar) next to my extraction is killing me, again the oral surgeon insists it's fine. I went to the dentist w/pain in root canal tooth on May 20, 1998. June 7, 1998, I woke up w/full blown arthritis throughout my whole body. My primary care doctor listened to me about my dental, but I neglected to tell him about the painful root canal. He feels it was the nickel material used in my very large bridge (the whole r/hand upper ~ 5 teeth) that threw off my immune system.

7/31/99 I had a root canal in Feb. of this year. But long before that though I thought that I just had fluid in my ear. I have been treated time and time again last year by 3 different ENT and General practitioners for allergies causing the fluid in my ear. They all couldn't understand my pain. I also have been thought of as a hypochondriac by my family and doctors. I'm just to the point of suicide. I can't stand the fatigue all the time and the feeling like I'm going to pass out. I just can't believe what I have read tonight. Please let this be true I can't stand the pain anymore. I have missed more days of work than I care to count. I just can't believe that my feelings for the last three years have been shared by others. It is like reading your life story by someone you have never met.

7/23/99 I had two root canals done in 1991. Shortly after this procedure, I became pretty sick with chronic fatigue, parasites, etc. Although I am well now (lots of therapies and immune system support) I still have mild soreness with these teeth. I had some x-rays last week, which revealed a mild abscess. One dentist said it would be best to pull the two and another guy thinks that I should have the root canals re-done.

9/9/99 Still have not made any decisions regarding extracting the teeth. The soreness is somewhat slight and it comes and goes.

5/6/99 My story is similar to yours. I had a front tooth bashed six years ago. It died, so I had a root canal done. At the time I was an extremely healthy boy at 17. Now I am very unhealthy, I have multiple food allergies, a heavy feeling in my chest, kidney trouble, and I have lost 2 stone. I was thin anyway at 10.5 stone, now I weigh 8.5 stone.

The minor problems (constipation, bad breath) got a lot worse three years ago at Uni (the stress didn't help). I got constant food poisoning. My neck now constantly aches and clicks as do all my joints. I have had an unbearable pressure in my head for three years.

About three weeks ago, I read Doctor Meinig's book "Root Canal Cover-Up." I couldn't believe it. I have moved fast. Two weeks ago I made an appointment with a top Biological Dentist in London, he gave me an injection which neutralizes the symptoms for a while if the tooth is at fault. My headache went instantly, first time for three years.

That proved it (as if it needed proving)! Next Friday, I have the tooth pulled. I CAN'T WAIT! My health struggle will be over. I do think I am lucky to have caught it now rather than any later. Also, I'm lucky not to have any mercury amalgam fillings, they probably would have finished me off. Seeing your web page has confirmed what I thought.

9/13/99 You may be interested to know that I did have the tooth pulled and a lovely plastic replacement fitted. I have been getting better and better ever since (slowly, but surely). I even forget how bad I was before, it is lovely.