Root canal coverup exposed

Phil, a regular reader of my Blog, sent me this link to an interview with a dentist, Dr George Meinig.

"Dr. Meinig brings a most curious perspective to an expose of the latent dangers of root canal therapy. As one of the original founders of the American Association of Endodontists (root canal specialists) he's filled his share of root canals. And when he wasn't filling canals himself, he was teaching the technique to dentists across the country at weekend seminars and clinics. About two years ago, having recently retired, he decided to read all 1174 pages of the detailed research of Dr. Weston Price, (D.D.S). Dr. Meinig was startled and shocked. Here was valid documentation of systemic illnesses resulting from latent infections lingering in filled roots. He has since written a book, "Root Canal Cover-Up EXPOSED - Many Illnesses Result", and is devoting himself to radio, TV, and personal appearances before groups in an attempt to blow the whistle and alert the public of the dangers of root canal therapy."

Rather than pretend to be an expert on root canal therapy, I invited a respected dentist to respond to the cover up claims of Dr Meinig. Although he wishes to remain anonymous, as most dentists do, I can assure you that this dentist knows what he is talking about.

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"Hi Gary,

I think that the problem with these types of articles is that they seem to rely on the same bits of 'evidence' that have been around for many years,such as the Dr Price experiments, yet they do not bother to perform properly regulated scientific experiments to test their theories. I know of many cases where patients have arthritis or cardiac problems and no root canal therapies and vice versa, yet I don't suddenly generalise and come to unfounded 'scientific' conclusions.

Often these radical conclusions are based on inuendo or one remarkable case. The intelligent next step is to test the observation scientifically as the only way to get a real perspective of things is to look at the evidence based on well done scientific studies. My understanding is that a properly done root canal therapy is bacteria free, but the correct chemicals and technique must be used. There is evidence that bacteria from the oral cavity can cause an endocarditis, but never the less this has to be kept in perspective and not generalised as Dr Menig has done. He is saying that any person who has a root canal is susceptible to arthritis or cardiac problems, but this definitely has not been substantiated.

Even the more recent findings that there may be an association between perio disease and cardiac problems needs to be properly interpreted. What is the causative association? Is it just that people with perio problems have a life style that promotes both perio and cardiac problems or is it that inflammatory enzymes arising from perio then go on to cause cardiac problems. The answer to this question has not yet been found.

My answer is that there are a lot of unknowns, but that it is dangerous for practitioners to set themselves up as authorities based on poor research and flimsy, scanty evidence based on 1 or 2 observations that are then used to make sweeping generalisations."

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Put that tooth back right now!

"The tooth fairy exists: it is Mr Moller (or is it "Molar"?) and he's working for the ACC. Mr Moller wants every one to save their teeth!"

So went the news headline in Truth - New Zealand's only tabloid newspaper back in 1980. Humorous? Yes. Effective? Yes. Great publicity for a good cause.

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I was the Accident Compensation Commission's National Coordinator of Sports and Recreation Safety at the time. After reading my brother Gordon's dental thesis a year earlier on the "Reimplantation of avulsed teeth", I decided to run an education campaign that was principally directed at dentists, teachers and the coaches and parents of young people playing sports like rugby, netball and hockey. The message was simple and it is probably time to remind people about it:

• If a permanent tooth is knocked out by the roots, it can be successfully reimplanted, especially if the vicitm is young
• Time is of the essence - reimplant the tooth within 30 minutes and the chances are very good that it will be saved

So, if your tooth is knocked out, what is the procedure?

• Find the tooth quickly
• Do not touch the root because you do not want to do any more damage to the delicate tissues of the tooth's base - handle it gently
• Wash it gently under cold running water
• If possible, gently reinsert the tooth into the gum socket, from whence it came (be sure that it is facing the right way round!)
• Or, place the tooth in the pocket between the gums and the cheek
• If it is a child's permanent tooth, the adult might be better to store the tooth in their mouth, rather than the child's
• Alternatively, place the tooth in a cup of cold milk
• Get to a dentist right away

On this last point; there is little to be achieved rushing off to an accident and emergency clinic only to have to wait an hour for a dentist. This is just too long and the chances of the tooth successfully reimplating diminish dramatically from 30 minutes on. This is an occasion that demands that you be assertive. The people on reception, despite their training, probably know little about the urgency required for reimplantation of an avulsed tooth, so you have to make sure it happens lickety-split!

Of course, you could go straight to your dentist; but these kinds of injuries often happen outside normal working hours, like during the weekend while playing sport. You may find that you have little choice but to use the medical emergency clinic. So, demand quick action. Even if a dentist is not immediately available, any trained medic should be capable of completing the initial reimplantation and stabilising of the tooth in its socket. The dentist can take over later to complete the job as well as assessing and treating any damage to other teeth or surrounding mouth structures.

This has been a simple message from the tooth fairy. If you have children, why not make sure that the school and their sports coaches are aware of it, just in case an accident happens and your beautiful child is suddenly made toothless?