After my own recent root canal surgery I have learnt a great deal about the possible pit falls for those with allergies or sensitivities. My dentist was really helpful and looked into every aspect of the surgery and used alternatives to the things that could have made me very ill. So here’s what you need to know.
- Ask about the rubber dam. This is used to protect your mouth from the heated equipment that is needed to finish off the root filling. My dentist bought a special non-latex dam just for me.
- Gutta percha is made from natural rubber latex. This is what’s used to fill the cavity once the root has been drilled and nerves removed. Again, there are other alternatives so check these out with your dentist before considering this surgery if you have a latex allergy.
- The sealant – This can also cause people problems. Find out what it is and what the possible allergy implications might be and discuss alternatives with your dentist.
- Ask about disinfectant – Dentists use Chlorhexidine as an antiseptic to disinfect the root before filling to ensure all trace of bacteria and infection are cleared up. Chlorhexadine is found in Corsodyl mouthwash so is considered fairly harmless but it has begun to cause allergic reactions in some peple. My dentist has seen a lady have an allergic reaction to it. Ask if a simple bleach solution can be used instead. Not ever so appealing but preferable to an allergic reaction on the dentist’s chair.
- Latex allergy – If you have a latex allergy ask the dentist and assistant to wear non-latex vinyl gloves. It is possible to get some very good quality non-latex gloves now which many professionals are choosing to use over the latex because there is less chance of irritation for both their patients and their staff. My dentist now only buys the non-latex gloves so I know I’ll be safe from the latex.
- Nickel and other allergies – If you are allergic to anything else that is used at the dentists it’s a good idea to book the first appointment of the day so that everything is clean and there is no chance of cross contamination.
Ask lots of questions and if your dentists doesn’t listen or ignores your concerns, don’t get it done. It’s an expensive proceedure so you need to be sure about it before going ahead. However if you have a tooth abscess you’ll be in so much pain you won’t care, not something I’d like to go through again in a hurry.
The treatment itself is not painful, or I didn’t find it so. It is very long winded though and requires quite a few long spells laying back on the dentists chair with your mouth wide open. It’s uncomfortable but I’m so glad it’s over now.
I have had a flushed face since having this proceedure but I’m hoping it will go down with time. It isn’t as itchy and painful as most of my normal allergic reactions, just feels slightly different, wrong, and warm.
It’s a pretty invasive treatment so if you’re body is sensitive the chances are it could put the balance out for a bit. Boost your immune system before having the treatment, during and after. Especially if you need to take anti-biotics to clear up any infection.
My tooth still feels sensitive to the touch and my face is still very red three days after. Have I just spent an offensive amount of money on some useless dentistry? Just a moment of googling this subject is enough to put anyone off ever having root canal work done. I really hope it sorts itself out, otherwise I will be questioning my dentist about why this wasn’t made clear to me in the first place.
The tooth in question is on the top jaw at the back so an extraction would not be the end of the world but does sound like an equally horrendous option. But if you STILL find eating on one side of your mouth uncomfortable what on earth is the point?
Are there any other dangers from root canal surgery?
I would suggest not googling this after having it done, as I have, because you’ll probably wish you hadn’t. I found this website article called Root Canal cover up exposted which is particularly terrifying, which basically talks about the tiny nerve canals that are left in the tooth after the surgery is done which can mean that the patient will still suffer with pain and infection even afterwards because a dead tooth is full of bacteria. Lovely! It does seem wrong to keep something dead inside your mouth just for vanity reasons. It appears the only real solution is extraction.
I wonder whether these website speading doom and gloom about root canal is just scare mongering or whether there is any truth in what they say.
Dentists seem to be loathe to ever extract a tooth and I can see that keeping ones own teeth has its advantages, but when a tooth has died, the nerves have gone necrotic and it no longer has a blood supply, why go through a very expensive treatment that ultimately could make you very sick and not solve the problem anyway?
Is it really a good idea to keep a dead tooth in your mouth? It’s dead. Dead things rot and decay. Don’t they?
My dentist swears it is very normal proceedure and that I should have no problems after a week. SHOULD! That little word rings in my ears. Has anyone else had root canal surgery and is suffering afterwards? Anyone had the gutta purcha filler (thank goodness I found out about this) and suddenly developed problems immediately afterwards?
Good luck Ruth – and no, I am not going to tell you any horror stories about root canal fillings – merely tell you that I have put a link to your blog up in the Latex allergy section of Foods Matter! http://www.foodsmatter.com/allergy_intolerance/latex/index_latex_allergy.html
I feel very frustrated because I feel like my body is reacting to overfill Gutta Percha. Strange pain points in my joints, suddenly developed skin issues ie ezcema, itchy skin over my liver, periodic pain in the are of the tooth. I believe I’m having an autoimmune reaction to the Gutta Percha. I feel rotten.
Hi Vickie, I really feel bad, this sounds horrible. I don’t know what you can do. It’s not easy to understand what you can do to fix this.
Thankyou pl help how to cure this skin itches after good root canal,reply on
johnny844@hotmail.com
I am going through this as well first time having a root canal over a month ago, now I have eczema , joint pain and a weird lump in my throat …. I have been freaking out over this please tell me what happened TIA
Your immune system is on overdrive. You have a dead, rotting body part in your mouth.
Pull your tooth and have an implant it’s the only way to get rid of a chronic infection in your mouth caused by a root canal.
hi ruth
i, too, wish you luck. many people seem fine after rc treatment. i wasn’t one of them. i think if your immunity is a bit rubbish you might suffer. i had rc last may and became quite ill. my tooth never settled down and hurt when i ate certains foods or drank hot or cold drinks. i was in bed on and off for months. i began do some research and found the kind of articles you obviously did! after a few months i developed breathing difficulties and bought salt inhalers/ a humidifier etc. etc. i actually felt awful. so i decided to have the tooth removed and began getting better straight away. i still get migraines from perfumes etc. but the awareness of most breaths has gone and i’m not exhausted and in bed most of the time these days.
all the very best
sophie
Hi Ruth
Just to add, I have a friend who is allergic to local anaesthetics and this caused severe breathing problems at the dentist. She has now had allergy tests and a treatment plan put in place.
Hi Michelle, I do get a very odd sensation from anaesthetic, runs in the family apparently. After an op on my shoulder the anaesthetic made me really sick and I had some kind of mild allergic reaction. Never thought it cd be that. And of course with the blooming root canal I’ve had about three doses in just a few weeks. Lovely! Could very well be that so I will speak to my allergy doc in may. Thanks again.
I just had a root canal, but I was aware of the opposition. I just could not tell if it was valid or not. After my root canal, the energy seemed to drain from my body. My tooth was not even infected before, but the pulp was inflamed. Anyway, my immune system is usually great, but like I said, I’ve felt a little off in the few days since the RC. Even ended up in the ER yesterday. I’ll most likely get my RC taken out within the year. I’m normally very energetic, and despite what my dentist calls a “lack of literature” proving that RCs are harmful, I have to listen to my body. My body says something is not right.
Mine, which was put in middle of last year, does not feel right. The tooth is still sensitive and it feels like it did before it all went wrong before, with suspicious pains which come and go. I can feel it all the time and I’m really not happy with it at all. Not sure if it’s affected my general health, I’m OK, but it cost so much to get done though I can’t face another visit to the dentists but I hope to get mine removed at some point when I can afford it. It’s not right.
I have had 8 root canals and five have failed and one is still iffy. I was in pain for months with all of them while the dentist/ endodontist tried to figure out why they were not working. The first bad one was pulled and replaced with an implant. The rest were pulled and nothing done. Who can afford 4 imolants and bone grafts and a sinus lift. We r talking$30,000. I am now facing another fractured tooth that is throbbing all day. Dentidt wants to do root canal. I said no. I will now be missing my 4 back teeth on top and 1 molar on bottom. I will never get another root canal.
Thanks Jo, wise advice, sounds like they were definitely not great for you. Mine seems to have calmed down for now. But I am still wary about it, and not sure I’d have another. I’m still planning on getting my metal fillings removed so that’s my next step.
Hi jv, I have no idea if you’ll ever see this. But I had three root canals on teeth right in a row, one after the other, all had to be redone. I went to a dentist that specializes in bite and he says my malocclusion caused trauma to the teeth on that side, which is why they died and eventually needed a root canal. May be worth getting your bite checked by an expert.
Crikey… three in a row! Sounds ghastly… thanks for the suggestion. Definitely worth getting that checked if it can save teeth from dying.
Hi Ruth, like you I had a root canal done recently (about a year ago for me) and then watched a documentary on the horrors of root canals, because a year later, I am getting mild pain under the root canal filled tooth, as if there is pressure and inflammation there. This inflammation coincided with headaches, blurred vision and swollen glands in my neck on the same side. So, I am getting my root canal removed today! I do believe that it is impossible to remove all the bacteria and root pulp, and have read and researched a lot into the chronic systemic problems caused by root canals. In the past year, my asthma has worsened considerably and I’ve had to see a cardiologist because my resting heart rate increased to 105 and there was a virus in my heart! I believe the root canal was the source of this, as confirmed by 3 different, highly accurate bio-resonance testing systems. I hope this inspires you to get your out! All the best whatever you decide! Rhoda
Well Rhoda, I don’t know but my allergies have got WAY worse since having mine done. Coincidence? Who knows. I plan to get all the mercury fillings and dratted root canal out too. I wanted the tooth pulled in the first place there was so little of the blooming thing left anyway. I do not care if I get gaps between my teeth… cost a fortune too. Makes you sick huh? Literally! Do let me know if your health improves once it’s out.
I just had a rc yesterday and I got very queasy smelling that antiseptic. I have a sensitive system and didn’t really want to undergo that treatment. I said just pull it out. But it’s one of the back molars I still have and they kept pushing that I should keep my tooth. Is it my “tooth” when you still out the inside and put a crown? I’ve had very odd symptoms. My throat feels dry and my chest feels heavy. I go back for crown today and I just feel like telling them to yank it. It’s not worth a problem later. Idk what to do at this point. I have so much going on in my life. I have a husband who’s very ill and yes who needs more debt?
I am extremely allergic to latex and did not want gutta percha which is an isomer of latex put in my root canal. My dentist said he could try to just fill the area with sealer so I said I would give it a try. So he cleaned out the canal and filled with only prosoccol paste. It lasted 20 years!! 3 years ago it failed so I had tooth removed and implant put in. It is great!! Now have another root canal needed and can’t find any endo who will use something other than gutta percha. I can’t believe there is only one product in use for root canals. Many endos don’t accept that this allergy could cause problems.
This is crazy isn’t it? There should be alternative solutions. Where do you live? There must be someone!
I did 2 RCs 7 years back. One has always been a failure. Can’t chew with that side because it starts paining in a day or two. Right now it’s irritating inside. I feel like plucking out that tooth with my bare hands and giving it a good scratch with sandpaper! It’s really itching inside. Any holistic dentist in India who can extract this RC properly?
Hi Manoj, I’ve only had one and I can still feel it over a year later. Not painful, just an itch. I want it out… never wanted it in the first place. Take the tooth out, that’s what I say. I am planning on having my amalgam fillings replaced when I can afford it too. Soon I hope.
I have severe allergies and just had root canal treatment a year and a half ago, I have not been well since and getting worse I have just been told I have enlarged red blood cells and that can be down to allergies. is there such a thing as alergy free posts I can have desperate.thank you for any reply in advance.
hi linda
i’m not sure what you are asking… sorry you feel so desperate. can you rephrase the above? thanks,
sophie
Further to your comment here Linda, my posts, do you mean implants? I haven’t ever considered having these done so I’d have to find out. I’ll do some research. Hope you get some relief soon and let us know if you have your root canal removed.
Let us know, Linda. I’ve had 5!
I have had massive immune system issues after my root canals when I was 19… I’m 33 now and allergic to modern life apparently… and food… and drugs among other things. Have taken prednisone off and on almost constantly since I was 21… I recovered at one point but had another root canal! So it started right over again. I didn’t know that was my problem with the first ones. They’re still always infected and hurting and very problematic… but the immune system issues and lack of cash make it impossible to do anything for it! :/ sucks.
I know, it’s such a horrible situation. Just because so many people can them with no problems the dentists keep on telling us they are OK. But what are they doing to everyone else? What silent, slow ticking time bombs are we putting into our mouths?
S.M. Just have them removed and then save up for titanium implants.
I’d probably be more likely to turn into a unicorn than that happen!! :p
I can’t work from my illness and live on about $5500 a year… I can’t even afford to get the one that’s been broken for 6 years pulled. I live in Quebec and it’s French here, I only speak english, so I get no healthcare and when I had the root canals done I had zero communication with the dentist. (great fun) I have such severe sinus problems and polyps. I don’t freeze at all. The root canal was done without freezing at all!! no attempt to freeze it after the first appointment.
I can’t have metal anything even on me. I reject everything. Also degenerating bone from all the prednisone. I would never attempt any kind of implant.
I do wish I could get the broken one out though… it hurts. It’s put me in a real situation health-wise. After the root canals I developed an irregular heartbeat, lung problems, gallbladder problems, stomach issues, and I even get blisters in my eyeball if I’m near the computer much now… that one is crazy! I hope the broken one falls out!! hahaaa…
In the meantime I am trying to afford basic supplements and need to try pinecone extract. Allera … look it up people. It is interesting. 🙂
You must do all you can to have your root canals removed. I felt better the day after I had mine taken out – I was having trouble breathing prior to that which is something I’d never previously had a problem with. Go and speak to a few dentists in person. You can find a way. There are student dentists too though I know that’s not a brilliant option. Stop taking the prednisone too. Titanium implants are not metal.
Sorry, it is a coated metal!
Titanium metal is coated with an oxide layer that usually renders it inactive.
I do obviously know how important it is to not have these root canals, but I have no car and there are no student dentists here that speak english to start with. I haven’t been out since Feb. 3rd. Long time!
I am taking the prednisone because I’ll die if I stop. My adrenal glands have messed up. My tumors get so big that I could lose my eyesight and it keeps them smaller. I hate the stuff but it’s not like I take it for fun. I can’t eat, sleep, breathe, digest food, see or move without it at times.
I can be off it when I’m not around town water… but I live in town now. The infections get severe and I can’t take antibiotics at all, not even for two days… it’s way too complicated and throw in Lupus… I can’t really explain it all here, other than I’m not getting any medical treatment for anything simply because the english are seriously mistreated here and lack of resources. I hope I can move elsewhere someday, but it’s expensive. I was never helped when I repeatedly sought out medical assistance. I was a guinea pig for a new dentist and they did lots of things to me that they didn’t tell me about. I don’t even really know how many root canals I have other than the ones that hurt or are obvious… she didn’t speak english. It’s so wrong, the whole thing, because I had medical issues that are important that they needed to know about and they laughed at me when I tried to tell them and ignored it.
I can’t save up any $$ for teeth. I can’t really eat/live etc.
If I could get something I’d much rather have a *flipper* piece that’s removable… but I have issues with everything. When I was little all the seams on my clothes made my skin bleed. Princess and the Pea style. :p
The sun helps a lot, I’m usually better in the summer. I have a big allergy to chlorine and ammonia which they add in massive amounts to the water here to treat it… so that is probably almost entirely why I need the prednisone. If the water is turned on, I get a nosebleed and polyps and severe water retention and inability to digest food… so I really need to move… to a house with a well… but that’s almost impossible to find in my very small price range. So I am working on a lot of stuff.
I have weird luck.
I don’t have relatives or friends, there really isn’t anyone that can help me out. The friends I did have, I haven’t seen in about 12 years. The 2 relatives I have, I wish I could help…
When I did have well water, I felt good… first time in years that I felt even ok-ish… but then the town switched to evil rotten water, and I got worse than ever.
Sorry it got so long!! I know reading all this is annoying.
I’ll have to wait, and if I ever win the lottery or manage to have a home business that makes some money… for sure, I’ll get them out… I have small holes in all the front ones again, and those will show before long. 🙁 I’ve wanted them out since I was 22.
Either I’ll manage or I won’t.
🙂
All of the above sounds like a complete nightmare. Have you watcher Terry Wahls’s Ted talk Minding your Mitochondria on Youtube? Her book is called The Wahls Protocol, it might be worth having a look at both.
Buy one of those water filtration systems. You can get them online and they’re not massively expensive – or a water purifier for travellers.
There must be some English speaking dentisits! Draft an email explaining all of the above and send it to loads of practices – you never know who might respond and what they might offer. I know you’re probably not in the mood for a salesy approach but I think it’s worth a shot….
Thanks for sharing this! It is good to know that there are so many different options when it comes to the root canal procedure. It is also great that dentists have so much equipment to ensure that everyone who needs a root canal can get it. Fortunately for me, I don’t have any allergies, so I don’t even have to worry about stuff like this when I need a procedure!
I do know of one english one in Qc. but I owe them $65. :p It was that much to walk in and ask if they could pull a tooth!! (3 years ago.)
Quebec healthcare isn’t legal in english only. New crazy laws and a lot of english hate here the last couple of years. A crazy woman was trying to make Qc. a country of it’s own and pretty much Nazi-Germany all the english… the hate doesn’t go back in the bag so easily now that she’s gone. That and Medical people can’t make any money here and all the ones that can speak english head for other parts of canada where they aren’t forced to send their kids to french school.
I needed a CT scan because they wanted to do surgery in my head… without even figuring out what caused the problems first… they wanted the surgery in 2-3weeks… I couldn’t get a CT scan until 2 years later. They called me 2 years later and said they had a space for me then… I told them to nevermind it. That is the state of healthcare here… pretty much nonexistant. We’ve even had ambulance drivers refuse to speak english to hurt kids and won’t take info. from english… Not always, but it happens now… it’s scary.
I’ve never drank town water for sure. I tried some in montreal through a brita years ago, I was stuck there at someone’s place…. and got birth-control pill side effects severely!! turns out the water is full of hormones as well. Nice!
I can’t even be in the house when someone else takes a shower. If I turn on the faucet I get a nosebleed. Makes washing dishes easy! :p
I have a cheap Reverse Osmosis unit on one faucet for drinking water. (Of course does nothing for ammonia gas in the household) Just makes it so I can have safe water.
Before that I only got my water at my mothers… (good well water, no hormones)
In all the things I’ve learned and studied, it appears that all the stress on the immune system and exposure to hormones and plastic-related estrogen mimickers, has made me TH2 dominant, and if I can get that to level out, th1/th2 balance, it could make a big difference. Probably most people with root canals end up TH2 dominant from the drain on the immune system.
I think I have to wait until I can move out of the province to really get anything done with the teeth. There is no way you can really get better or make any money in such a stifled place. But I am hopeful. As long as we’re alive, we can get better.
🙂
I the part about zinc in root canals and rubber because that attracts mold. I’m super allergic to mold. Never was before… I used to have an ozone water generator, and I rinsed my mouth with it daily. Without it, my root canal tooth turns black around all the weird crack things in it… one whole part of it is indented, and different colour/transparency, and that is the part that goes black… It went black every time I stopped using the ozone thing… then it broke of course! lol…. but it’s interesting either way.
Definitely want them out the first time I get the chance…
Checking out the video now.
Watched,
I already only eat fruit and vegetables, but I’m allergic to fish and have reactions to meat because they’re fed soy… seaweed allergy too… but I take supplements for most things. I’ve made such a good anti-inflammatory pill cup that it cures peoples nasal polyps and sinus infection with just a couple of doses! (other people)
Enzymes are so important! make a big difference.
I grow my own food quite a bit. I don’t eat very well, but I never consume processed foods, sugar crap and everything I make is made of real food. 🙂
Hopefully will be off town water as soon as I can find a cheap house to rent that isn’t full of mold and falling down.
I had a root canal 3 months ago. Immediately developed eczema on my hands and hives on my lower legs. Took awhile to make the connection. Has anyone experienced skin problems from root canal?. Antihistamines help somewhat. I have tried everything. Is the only solution removal of the tooth?
Hi Mary, I hear lots of people report problems like this after root canal and it would appear the only option is extraction. I haven’t gone that drastic yet but I could swear that I never had such bad nodular prurigo on my whole body before the root canal. Can’t prove it though but it’s like hard blistery lumps that itch like crazy. When I pluck up the courage I am getting out the mercury fillings and might ask them to just remove the dreaded root canalled tooth. Cost me a fortune too!
Did they use gutta percha in your rc?
I got a root canal last summer and I’ve had hives every since .and some breathing issues … I am wondering if they’re linked with it …. not sure if I should just get my tooth removed ?!
Do you know what they used? Find out exactly what root canal material was used, then get allergy tests done. I would get it removed if it’s that or you’ll probably continue to suffer. They can take a while to settle in though. Good luck
Hi, Just went and got my teeth cleaned today and was asked by the hygienist, “are you going to have an implant put in there?”
Ah yes, the reminder of my horrific experience with a root canal…
Back in 2011, I had a crown detach from chewing gum…didn’t have any pain so I kinda forgot about it…until one day I but into a sandwich and almost hit the ceiling from the pain…needless to say I had an infection that had set up in that lower molar…went to the dentist and was prescribed a couple rounds of antibiotics, including clyndamicin, known to cause colitis.
The dentist recommended a root canal…being vain and protective of my teeth, I agreed.
I sat in the dentist’s chair for the two hours while he used grinding bits to dig out the four nerves, and then added gutta percha to fill the canals…
Immediately following that next day, my lymph nodes swelled under my ears, by the jaw, and turned hard…I felt as if I had been socked in the stomach because of the sick feeling I had, weakness, muscle aches in forearms, and I knew right away something was wrong with me…went back and he prescribed another round of antibiotics, then realized they were not doing any good, lost my appetite…called the dentist and he said he wanted to send me to a specialist because he didn’t want to extract the tooth..I refused. I knew this tooth had to be removed, it felt as if I had a splinter underneath the tooth…
I called another dentist and asked him to extract the tooth, after hearing my symptoms, he agreed..what he found was maddening….in each of the canals, the dentust had drilled too far and into my jawbone, filling each canal with gutta percha a 16th to an 8th of an inch INTO MY JAWBONE…my body knew there was a foriegn object in it but had no way of getting rid of it…
My stomach began feeling better the day I had the tooth extracted, I began to start feeling like myself again, and the muscle aches finally went away for good. I still have the hard lymph nodes, which I have had checked and the doctor says it is nothing to be concerned about…my words of advice, DO NOT ALLOW A DENTIST TO PERFORM A ROOT CANAL ON YOUR TEETH. HAVE IT EXTRACTED. Don’t go through what I went through.
Oh Doug that sounds awful. I would agree, though my root canal isn’t too bad now, it’s stopped itching permanently, I didn’t have gutta percha put in but a more natural substance, but I have had worse eczema and nodular prurigo to die for ever since. I often wonder whether having that tooth out and also the mercury fillings remaining in my mouth might help. Must really go and get that done. I have saved up the money just hate dentists. Gonna sort my mouth out for 2016.
What did they put in?
It’s great you started to feel better after the tooth was extracted. I have swollen/painful lymph nodes under my ear and jaw on the side where the root canal was done. I wonder if root canal is the cause. I’ve done so many medical tests (and spent a lot of money) and no one can figure out what’s causing this. Xrays do not show infection. I’m tempted to just pull the tooth. On the other hand, I spent money on the root canal, crown, and went through the whole procedure – it would be a shame to extract the tooth if it is not what’s causing my health issues.
Wish some of the people who commented would write an update on their health a few years later – was it all due to a root canal?
I had a root canal done on December 10 2019. I have a latex allergy and allergy asthma. Since the root canal Inhabe has severe asthma episodes that do not improve with steroids or my inhailers. I basically have to sit in a chair all day if I talk or walk long distances I can’t breath. I have also started having random rapid heart rates throughout the day. I can lay down, I can’t sleep laying down or in sitting up in a chair as the min my head dips at all I can’t breath. The hospitals done know what else to do as all the virus and bacteria testing has come back neg all CT scans and xrays of lungs have come back normal. I can only sit here and wait for an appointment with a pulmonologist to figure out my next step. Bit after reading your comments I am considering having the tooth removed. I went back to my dentist yesterday he did put in gutta percha, but states it has been around for years and he has never seen any reactions to it. He does not think the tooth is the problem.