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Root Canal – To do or not to do

Root Canal Treatment – The aim of the treatment is to remove all the infection from the root canal of the tooth. The root is then cleaned and filled to prevent any further infection.

Dare I say, one of the most traumatic decisions of my life. I don’t wish this upon anyone.

Ok I might be overstating it slightly  it isn’t life’s biggest decision, but it certainly seemed like it once I made a fatal error. Yes we’ve all done it. I know I’m not alone. I punched ‘root canal’ into Google. I then compounded my error by following the thread of ‘root canal complications’.  Thanks for the suggestions Google!

So, you may be unsure as to what the big deal is. Well to put it plainly what I saw left me confused and a little dazed. Even Web Md and other usually sane voices of reason were little comfort to a borderline imaginative hypochondriac, describing in detail the complications.  Vast numbers of scientisits, researchers bloggers and general internet personalities strongly claiming links between the root canal and frightening diseases, including; heart disease, kidney disease, arthritis, joint, and rheumatic diseases, neurological diseases, autoimmune diseases plus more. All this with the idea of leaving a dead part of me inside my mouth, forever. I generally use a varied vocabulary, but as well as fear I thought, ‘Yuck’.

The alternative? Extraction of the tooth.

Call me vain but the idea of having one less tooth at this age be it a back tooth, was not an option. So I declined the extraction and went for the Root Canal Treatment and yes after three many long appointments, I survived to tell the tale 🙂

I made a secret vow that I cannot go through another one, and so my oral hygiene has to step up its game. Not that my regime isn’t good enough as it is, I brush twice a day, use mouthwash, occasionally floss but it’s a losing battle especially with my love for sugary treats.

It doesn’t help that once you seek the opinion from the word wide web, it becomes a never ending circle of ‘what ifs’, I even discovered people getting the wrong tooth extracted, yes it happens! But its not all bad because I even discovered if you are unlucky enough to have a wrong tooth extracted you can actually get advice for compensation here. (That could pay for a new tooth 🙈)

But to the point of this blog, although there is no substantial evidential research to support the dangers of root canal treatment, this is something I’m keeping my eye on as I’m some one who is always susceptible to ill health.

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