I went to my Dentist last week to recement a temporary and for a toothache.
He is not the best communicator. He has performed at least 3 or 4 root canals on me in the past 2-3 years, something he just started adding to his 'repertoire'. He is a fine man and a good friend, and he always either gives me a break or huge discount because of our friendship.

However, Im beginning to think this friendship is costing me my health.
He started drilling into my 12 year molar before even saying anything, I stopped him and asked, what are we doing today? He said, 'you have a necrotic tooth and im starting a root canal. Without a rubber dam, only occasional suction, he opened the entire top of the tooth I guess to relieve pressure, and partially cleared out some of the pulp or canal, which he described as completely dead. Then he put a temporary filling in it and said we will deal with it after the holidays. He gave me Amoxicillin 500 mg to take for 7 days.

Meanwhile, I took the Amoxicillin for 3 days before I had a follow up appointment with my Functional Medicine Doctor who had done a test that showed I had a bad case of SIBO, more methane than nitrogen, (small intestinal bacterial overload) and he gave me a prescription for Xifaxin for the SIBO, so I stopped taking the Amoxicillin and was ready to take the Xifaxin, but the insurance company wanted a prior authorization, which has not come for 4 days.

So, as soon as I stopped the Amoxicillin, I came down with a horrible GI infection that was like a flu, presumably from all that bacteria going down my throat, and after 4 days of liquids and some rice, it is subsiding, but 2 days ago, my back started to hurt a lot at the site of surgery I had at L2- L3 for a ruptured disc 15 months ago. That was a tough surgery long recovery, was swollen like an egg for about 3 months before slowly draining.

Im afraid that bacteria has found a home in a partially healed microdiscectomy. My Functional Dr. just texted me back after 3 days and wants me to take Cipro.

I feel like having all my root canaled teeth pulled, but that isnt necessarily a cure-all if all the bacteria is not removed, and i cant afford all those implants, and I gather that they arent without bacterial issues.

I know this is a lot, and way too long for a post, but any suggestions??

Hi azmantheart,

I may be mistaken, but I seem to remember communicating with you in the past about root canaled teeth and how they can cause or contribute to systemic health. Is my memory serving me correctly?

This may or may not be your particular situation but regarding your dental treatment being provided by your dentist "friend" .... a friend would not perform any treatment without informing you first or do things like forgo using the rubber dam, he would be educating you on the importance of preventative care rather than waiting for something to get bad enough to need a root canal, and his work would be meticulous. If you think he is being careless in any way, then you may be right and it is possible that he is not real comfortable in giving you a discount. Again this may or may not be your particular situation.

The bacteria that lives in our mouth, including our teeth, jaw bone, blood vessels, glands .... filters through our digestive tract, blood stream, renal collecting system, and lymphatic system. Any place in or on the body that is compromised from medications, deterioration, trauma, surgery, illness .... is an easy area for oral bacteria to settle into. The oral and systemic connection is a subject that is often overlooked by conventional practicing dentists and physicians. However, in the field of pathology which is basically the study of the origin, nature and cause of diseases and why/how they progress (actual definition) the subject of oral and systemic health is a commonly discussed topic because of the fact that the transmission of bacteria from the mouth easily filters through our entire system.

The number of root canaled teeth someone has, the more intensified the overall bacteria burden will be systemically. However, in some people all it takes is one root canaled tooth to become a systemic burden. It all depends on the individual.

Antibiotics do not make an unhealthy, non vital tooth healthy again irrelevant of how many different prescriptions you take. The antibiotics do destroy both good and bad bacteria in the gut which significantly reduces the quality of the intestinal flora predisposing the user to intestinal upset and intestinal infection. Knowing this, it is important to weigh the benefits against the risks of taking antibiotics in an attempt to retain unhealthy, non vital teeth.

SIBO... small intestinal bacterial overgrowth... by definition means..... a condition that is caused by an abnormally large number of bacteria that would not normally be found in the small intestine. There are a number of reasons for this condition to occur. However, one commonly found cause is thought to be due to maintaining an acidic intestinal environment. Many things can lead to that but for certain, antibiotics and/or chronic infection are both contributing factors as they unfavorably alter the body's pH and the balance of healthy microorganisms.

Removing root canaled teeth obviously removes the original and the chronic source of the infection. It is imperative that all visible and radio-graphic findings of the infection be thoroughly removed at the same. However, there is no guarantee that all remnants of infection will be removed because it hides in places that are not readily visible. It's important to note that the longevity of the infection greatly influences the post operative outcome.

Extracting teeth is not something anyone wants to do, especially in multiples. But if you are concerned about the oral and systemic connection and feel your health is being jeopardized by your unhealthy teeth, then it may be something you need to seriously consider. Dental implants offer permanent tooth replacement in some cases but they can be less than optimal when replacing infected and/or non vital root canaled teeth. So you may want to discuss other replacement options with your dentist.

You mentioned that you see an FM physician. By any chance can he refer you to a "like minded" dentist?

Bryanna