Metaphysical healing guidelines for oral health

Metaphysical healing guidelines for oral health

Metaphysical Healing for Teeth and Gums

Metaphysical healing teeth and gums can help boost the effectiveness and sustainability of dental procedures as well as natural approaches to oral such as health herbs or diet, anatomical adjustments to your breath or jaw muscles, optimising your oral hygiene rituals… or a necessary dental procedure. 

In this video I lay out some guidelines for applying spiritual healing concepts to teeth and gums. There are strengths and limitations of using existing frameworks of metaphysical meanings to symptoms, which I explain in relation to the four quadrants of your mouth: the upper and lower jaws and the right and left sides. Finally I’ll provide some practical examples of how to work with metaphysical meanings to help with healing your own symptoms.

This video series is all about the metaphysical or non-physical, influences on your oral health, but its important to remember to provide physical support for your teeth.  If you have intense or constant pain, or other serious symptoms please visit a dental professional.

Interpreting the quadrants of your mouth

Metaphysically and dentally, you can divide your mouth horizontally into upper jaw (maxilla) and lower jaw (mandible); and vertically into right and left sides. 

Upper Jaw

Your upper jaw is about dreams and intentions, it represents what you want and wish for, the upper jaw is where you set goals and visualise the future. Having symptoms concentrated in your upper jaw can indicate a problem with knowing or accepting your dreams or desires.

Lower Jaw

Your lower jaw is about action, speaking your truth, and qualities of  courage, authenticity, decisiveness. Symptoms in your lower jaw can suggest you have held back from speaking out or taking action. 

TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint)

Your TMJ joint, the hinge between upper and lower jaw, represents the connection between your desires and your actions. It can embody your fears, your impulsiveness or your hesitation. Symptoms such as TMJ disorder, a clicking jaw or teeth grinding can indicate resentment or anger.

In many healing traditions the Right side of the body is associated with  masculine energies or your relationship with your father while the Left side is associated with feminine energies or your relationship with your mother.

However, I find it’s not usually helpful to take such a gender-essentialist interpretation of these associations with the sides of your mouth. 

Instead, the ancient Chinese concept of yin and yang can be more meaningful.

Right side of your mouth

The energy of the right side of your mouth may tend to be more yang: active, outward, professional, career, logical thinking. 

Left side of your mouth

The energy of the left side of your mouth may tend to be more yin:  inner world, intuitive, family, children, hobbies, creativity.

But knowing the traditional associations with different parts of your mouth is just a starting point for spiritual healing, not a solution or cure in itself . 

Metaphysical meanings of the quadrants of your mouth
The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

The Secret Lives of Teeth is a clear and comprehensive guide teaches you a unique, complementary self-help approach to easing toothaches, enhancing enamel and gum remineralization and getting better results with necessary dental treatments. 

Available as a paperback or ebook. 

Guidelines for spiritual healing

As a holistic oral health coach, I may refer to existing metaphysical frameworks such as Traditional Chinese Medicine’s meridian system, Dr Michele Caffin’s psychosocial system and correlations identified by Louise Hay, Evette Rose and others as starting points for understanding the metaphysical influences on your oral health. These frameworks are most helpful when inspiring what questions to explore, rather being relied on for answers. 

Think of these existing associations as story prompts that can help you explore your own childhood and adult experiences, your family patterns  and ancestral lineage. 

Parts of your unique story might come to you in a dream, or as a memory from a past life. 

Your story can emerge from your visioning, or be picked up from the wider culture. 

Finding your healing story this way can give you a delicate, imaginative tool for healing. 

For the purposes of healing, it doesn’t necessarily matter whether your healing story is true or accurate in order to transform your relationship with your oral health.

However, it can feel intoxicating to finally make sense of your symptoms with a compelling metaphysical interpretation.

That intoxication can lead you to give your healing story more weight than it can hold. 

It may not be wise to use your healing story to determine your identity, and you should certainly be very careful before going public with blame or claims. 

Before you take your healing story out of the safe space of your healing work, (ie before you share it anywhere beyond your journal or a confidential therapeutic conversation) ensure you have receipts.

Without corroboration, or evidence, going public with your healing story could potentially cause further harm, if not to you, then to others. 
Find your unique oral health healing story

Your unique metaphysical meanings

Journalling can be one way to help you develop traditional associations into a healing story that can help you to relieve your symptoms and transform your oral health. 

Think of your symptoms as metaphors you can apply to the associations.  Make a list of words that describe your symptoms:

eg blocking or eroding or aggravating, deep or shallow, nagging, intermittent, subtle, overwhelming, irritating, invasive, unbalanced, stuck etc…

Once you’ve written down the words that describe your symptoms, reread each word and think about the non-symptom experiences in your life that those words could also be metaphors for.  A thesaurus or synonym search might be helpful.

Understanding the metaphysical meaning of your teeth issues can be like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with a picture that is mostly blue sky.  You have to test many possibilities to find the right fit.

With relaxed curiosity and a playful spirit you can test your symptom’s metaphors against the associations of their placement in your mouth.

A throbbing toothache in your upper left jaw

For example: if you have a throbbing toothache in your left upper jaw… think about anything in your personal life that feels overwhelming, or a nagging desire that remains unfulfilled.  Have you had any relationships that feel like this, or felt like this in the past, especially within your family or intimate circle? 

A throbbing toothache in your lower right jaw

If the throbbing toothache is taking over your lower right side consider whether your work life is demanding or whether you’ve made a career move you regret. Are you uncomfortable now or in the past with anyone in a position of authority, or anyone in a fatherly role  or acting in domineering way?

Keep brainstorming metaphors and experimenting with associations. Don’t be afraid to extend your pool of possible healing stories by drawing on memories, dreams, insights from other people, even song lyrics that catch your ear!

 

Spiritual Healing Guidelines for teeth and gums

Recognising your own healing story

You won’t always recognise your story right away.

Sometimes you will think: not this old trauma, surely my 20 years of therapy and healing resolved this by now.
Sometimes you will think: that’s too trivial, I don’t have enough emotional attachment for this to explain my symptoms.
Sometimes it can take weeks of chewing on these ideas before you get clarity.

To help speed up the process you can watch my free Listen to your Teeth masterclass where I take you through a guided meditation for listening to your teeth.

 

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

The Secret Lives of Teeth is a clear and comprehensive guide teaches you a unique, complementary self-help approach to easing toothaches, enhancing enamel and gum remineralization and getting better results with necessary dental treatments. 

Available as a paperback or ebook. 

Meliors Simms headshot

Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.

As a natural oral health coach I have worked with hundreds of clients worldwide to avoid unnecessary dental procedures and have better experiences with the necessary ones. (Find out about my coaching services here).

After a diverse career (from research to counselling to arts) and a lifetime of terrible teeth, I stumbled on an Alt Oral approach which prevented what would have been my 7th root canal.

That inspired years of independent research and experimentation, eventually resulting in my uniquely holistic approach to oral health.

My new book The Secret Lives of Teeth is a comprehensive guide to healing teeth and gums with metaphysical perspective. Read a sample here for free

.

 

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably...

How to heal decaying baby teeth

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How long does it take to remineralize cavities?

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Is your jaw clenched right now?

Is your jaw clenched right now?

If you had to stop to evaluate whether or not it was clenched, noticed that it was, and then had to manually un-clench it – this article is for you!

We are in an unprecedented moment. 

Not only are we adapting to a complete change in daily life, but we are in a time where taking care of normal, routine things like oral health may just have fallen to the wayside. 
 
Many dental associations around the world are advising their region or their country to suspend regular dental services and only provide emergency dental care.
There will likely not be any non-emergency dental treatment available in most places for quite some time.
And so, in some ways, we really are on our own.
 
That makes this a great time to bring natural oral health into the mainstream conversation about how we care for our teeth.

Your mouth is a vulnerable place.

The mouth is very vulnerable to infection, and it is part of our immune system.
The complex system of our mouth – the saliva, gums, mucous membranes, teeth and jaw – all of that is within itself an immune system, which is connected to the bigger immune system of our body. It’s very close to our nose.
Our mouths are one of the vectors where we can potentially inhale little droplets of virus that might stay in the air for up to three hours, so we really do need to be taking good care of our mouth.
This means being extra careful with brushing and flossing.  It means not causing bleeding if you can avoid it. 
It helps if you can keep the jaw relaxed so that you’re not risking cracking or chipping a tooth, or even losing a filling because of tension.

Stress and tension is markedly high.

On top of the limitations for professional dental care, stress may be at an all-time high for us.
We may be taking on the stress of others as well as our own.  Did you know that we sometimes actually store stress in our jaws and teeth?!
 
All of this fear around the pandemic may lead to people clenching their jaw even more than usual, which can cause cracks, chips, and toothache nerve pressure.
Jaw tension is then being exacerbated.  With conventional dental care unavailable to handle non-emergency situations, it becomes even more important to do some jaw self-care.

You’re not powerless in this.

Fortunately, there are some simple, basic things we can do on our own at home to reduce the need for dental intervention.
A fabulous way of mitigating both our oral health needs, as well as the intensified stress we may be under, is to practice jaw massage and relaxation.

You can relax your jaw every evening with jaw massage.

I recommend that you go slowly, mindfully and gently. Pay attention to your breath.
Notice how your jaw, and your psyche, are feeling as you go.  Think of this as a loving act of self-care, as well as prime support for your oral health and well-being.
As you proceed through the steps below, imagine that there’s a healing light coming out through your fingertips like a spotlight shining through the tissue of your cheeks, into your jaw and into your gums.
Here are the steps involved:
1. Massage the TMJ joint (the hinge between your upper and lower jaw, in front of your ear)
2. Massage along the upper jaw line
3. Massage along the lower jaw line
4. Massage underneath the lower jaw line
5. Massage around the eye sockets and temples
6. Massage over the ears, and follow base of skull to the occipital bone where the spine enters the skull, and extend the massage to your scalp, neck and shoulders as desired.
(For full step-by-step instructions on jaw relaxation, have a peek at my video on this)

This is truly self-care at its best.

If you practice this jaw relaxation daily, you can greatly reduce the likelihood of clenching and grinding.  You can avoid the potential risk of unnecessary damage to your teeth and jaw.
 
And this practice helps to center you.  When you add in your own healing intentions, it connects you more deeply to your body and overall sense of well-being.
 
Not only does this help stop the clenching and grinding, but can even support cracks in the teeth to heal whilst avoiding chipping in general.
 
It’s so lovely to do just before you go to sleep at night. You can relax the jaw for the night so that you don’t clench or grind in your sleep.  It allows you to release the tension of the day.
 
Jaw relaxation another tool for you in your dental health self help regimen.  Combine this with a dental nutritional protocol and overall dental hygiene, and you can reap the benefits afforded by better oral health.
 
You can physically reduce stress and tension to help foster greater relaxation, which we all need a bit more of at the moment, don’t we!

Has a dentist told you that your cavities or receding gums are your fault because you are drinking too much Coke, you don’t floss enough or you need to stop breastfeeding your baby? And you know that isn’t true!

I’m not going to blame you or shame you.
The underlying causes of your oral health issues are not your fault!

Nature or nurture, ancestry or environment, free will or systemic oppression, unconscious emotions or the degraded food system

These are the factors that make your teeth and gums vulnerable to disease.

Even though your tooth decay and gum disease is not your fault, it is within your power to change.

You can turn your oral health around with natural strategies and healthy habits.

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably...

How to heal decaying baby teeth

As a parent you want to do whatever is right to keep your baby healthy. You can feel so guilty to see brown spots or cavities developing on your baby's teeth. Yet, discoloration and dental decay can start very young, sometimes within hours of a new tooth erupting!...

How to have a tooth extraction with grace and ease

  Releasing your tooth with ease   No one wants to lose a tooth, but sometimes a tooth extraction is necessary.  By the time you are considering an extraction, it's usually the end of a long series of attempts to try almost every other possible way to restore and...

A simple guide to online coaching

Any timezone, any place A consultation with the Holistic Tooth Fairy is nothing like going to the dentist! It's easy, empowering and even fun! All our consultations are done in online video calls which means that you can work with us no matter what country or what...

Metaphysical meanings of molars and premolars

Metaphysical Meanings of Molars and Premolars The metaphysical meanings of molar and premolar teeth are different for every individual. However, there are some common themes and widely accepted frameworks for interpretation. Molars and premolars are your most powerful...

Horse teeth vs human teeth

This is a guest post written by my good friend Trisha Wren from Equine Energetics. If you don’t have a horse, or haven’t spent much time around them, you may not have given much thought to their teeth and how they differ from human teeth. There’s the obvious of course...

Is there a Spiritual Meaning to Your Toothache?

Asking your intuition about your toothache meaning can put you in touch with the subconscious feelings and thoughts that influence your oral health. Is there something you're not talking about in your life? What are your stress levels day-to-day at the moment? Are you...

How long does it take to remineralize cavities?

How long does it take to remineralise cavities?    How long it takes to remineralise cavities, reverse decay or regrow receding gums depends on three factors. Your symptoms, how severe they are and how long you've had them for How wholeheartedly you are able to...

Political Teeth

What do Nazis have to do with your teeth? A holistic approach to oral health doesn't stop at the boundaries of our bodies (or even at the edge of our aura).  We exist in communities that are connected globally in real time and our mouths are not separate from what is...

Is your jaw clenched right now?

If you had to stop to evaluate whether or not it was clenched, noticed that it was, and then had to manually un-clench it – this article is for you!We are in an unprecedented moment.  Not only are we adapting to a complete change in daily life, but we are in a time...

How long does it take to remineralize cavities?

How long does it take to remineralize cavities?

How long does it take to remineralise cavities?

 

 How long it takes to remineralise cavities, reverse decay or regrow receding gums depends on three factors.

  1. Your symptoms, how severe they are and how long you’ve had them for
  2. How wholeheartedly you are able to engage with holistic healing strategies
  3. How much time you feel is available

 

The most thrilling part of my work as a natural oral health coach is hearing back from people who have successfully saved a tooth from a root canal or extraction by following the Holistic Tooth Fairy Way. 

 Unfortunately I can’t wave a magic wand to fix your dental problems overnight. Unlike visiting a dentist who spends no more than an hour or two to drill, fill and bill, working with natural healing strategies requires an ongoing commitment to self care. 

 Most of my coaching clients see significant improvement to their teeth within the first three months and their gums within six months. A few determined and lucky people have healed dramatically within days or weeks of starting the Holistic Tooth Fairy Way.

But there are no guarantees with this approach. Some people find that their symptoms remain stubbornly resistant to holistic healing. 

It’s not always possible to save a tooth so sometimes my work involves supporting people through their root canal or extraction.  

I help them come to clarity and peace with their decision. We tailor a personalised protocol to help prepare physically, emotionally and practically for the procedure they’ve chosen.  On the day of, and days after, the procedure I check in to offer whatever support is needed to help manage their physical recovery and common feelings of anxiety and grief etc. 

Spiritual Meanings Behind Gum Disease

When is it too late to remineralise a cavity

One of the most frequently asked questions I get asked on the free 15 minute assessment call is whether they’ve left it too late to heal their tooth or gums holistically.

 The interesting thing about this question is that it most often comes from someone whose symptoms are comparatively mild, but because it’s an isolated incident and the worst thing they’ve experienced, they feel scared and hopeless.  

I was thinking about how to make a flow chart for deciding whether or not it’s too late to save a tooth. But even the most complicated tangle of factors would still be too simplistic to decide whether it’s worth trying to save your tooth.

Often it’s a matter of timing that makes the difference between being able to heal your teeth or gums holistically, or not. The severity of your symptoms and how long you’ve had them may be the deciding factor for  e.g. a three year old abscess is going to take longer to heal than a three week old infection.

When the problem has been going on for too long, there may be no time left to allow for the incremental improvements of holistic healing. 

If you let an intermittent niggle develop into an intolerable toothache, ongoing pain undermines your ability to stick to a healing protocol for long enough to take effect. 

The main consideration for deciding whether or not it’s too late, is not usually the seriousness of the problem, but your willingness to wholeheartedly commit to consistently practicing a Very Intensive Protocol.

Ultimately it’s rarely the symptoms that hold the answer to whether it’s too late to save your tooth or gum from a dental procedure, but how wholeheartedly you are able to engage with all four realms of the Holistic Tooth Fairy Way and practice nutrition, jaw relaxation, hygiene and metaphysical strategies consistently and persistently for as long as it takes to heal

Your ability to heal faster than the problems can progress may depend on whether you utilize ‘short cuts’ such as eating animal products or take a ‘fast track’ 1:1 intensive with a natural oral health coach 

That’s why we need to have a conversation so I can get a sense of who you are, not just what is happening in your mouth.

We need to consider not only your symptoms, oral health aspirations and dental diagnosis, but also your lifestyle, your priorities and your personality.

One thing I can can say for sure, is that the sooner you start applying your own personal Very Intensive Protocol the more flexibility and fun you can have in the healing process.

Finding time to remineralize cavities

Another aspect of time seems to make a significant impact on whether your tooth can be saved. It’s an intangible quality of spaciousness. Saving a tooth seems to require an attitude that there is enough time. Paradoxically, the more time you feel like you have, the faster a tooth seems to heal. 

Note I’m not talking about the amount of obligations you are juggling. Your days may be packed full with work, kids, side gigs and more, yet you can hold it lightly with a flexible, expansive way of thinking about your personal experience of time. 

I see this kind of spacious attitude to time working it’s teeth healing magic most effectively when you 

  • relax about what you ‘should’ be doing, 
  • let go of perfectionism and 
  • allow your intuition and body wisdom to guide your decisions from day to day. 

 I suppose a few souls grow up with this kind of graceful self-trust around time (I don’t know many). Most adults only learn about it later, if at all, usually as the result of a crisis that rearranges your priorities. 

For some people that crisis is embodied in our teeth.

Therefore, practicing the Holistic Tooth Fairy Way may involve embracing a new sense of time. 

Instead of toothbrushing in a mindlessly rush on your way to work or bed, you could find it becomes a moving meditation on self love and forgiveness. 

Instead of grabbing at snacks to graze on the go, you could find yourself sitting down to a home cooked meal and savoring it with grace.

How long to keep practicing?

One final FAQ about time is to do with how long to keep going with a teeth or gum healing protocol. 

Once your cavity has started to remineralize, the root canal has been averted or your gums begun to regrow…how long will you need to follow the Holistic Tooth Fairy Way?  

The answer depends on whether your oral health problems are isolated and straightforward or chronic and multifaceted.

Are your current symptoms unusual for you? Are you generally in good health overall?  Then you may find that after this particular problem is resolved you can return to your old habits with no further problems.

Or are you more like me and your teeth are your health weakness? Is your mouth the part of your body that will always be ready to communicate when something in your life is out of alignment with your highest good?

Then you may need to follow a modified version of your healing protocol for life.

 I’ve been practicing what I preach for 7 years and yet I still get symptoms flaring up in my mouth when I’m stressed. For as long as I want to keep my teeth, I’ll be following the Holistic Tooth Fairy Way… for the rest of my life.

Meliors Simms headshot

Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.

As a natural oral health coach I have worked with hundreds of clients worldwide to avoid unnecessary dental procedures and have better experiences with the necessary ones. (Find out about my coaching services here).

After a diverse career (from research to counselling to arts) and a lifetime of terrible teeth, I stumbled on an Alt Oral approach which prevented what would have been my 7th root canal.

That inspired years of independent research and experimentation, eventually resulting in my uniquely holistic approach to oral health.

My new book The Secret Lives of Teeth is a comprehensive guide to healing teeth and gums with metaphysical perspective. Read a sample here for free

.

 

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Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably...

Removing Root Canals

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Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns

I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably traumatic, but their current status in my body is relatively benign.

Avoiding what would have been my 7th root canal by changing my diet seemed like a miracle that opened my eyes to the wonderful and wacky world of alternative oral health (or alt-oral as I like to call it).

In the seven years since healing that root naturally, I have become very familiar with the experts and arguments presented in the recently released Netflix documentary Root Cause.

Books by several Root Cause featured experts are on my shelves, but I don’t agree with everything they say. Particularly when their tone veers into fear-mongering, exaggerated extremes and conspiracy theories. Theories which aren’t part of the documentary, but are easy to find in most alt-oral discussions of root canals.

On one hand, it’s exciting to see the root canal debate enter mainstream awareness. Root canals are problematic and the dental profession’s excessive use of the procedure needs to be challenged, particularly when cavities or abscesses are not present.

The flip side to this is the manipulative way that director, Frazier Bailey, presents a mixture of facts, opinion and distortions lacks nuance. These very qualities are what make Root Cause so slick and watchable actually undermine the credibility of its central argument, that root canals can cause harm. And don’t even get me started on the film’s objectification of women – I’ll save that discussion until the end of this review.

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Watch ‘Root Cause’ until the end

The best part of Root Cause is the second half, where some of the more sensible and balanced information and practical advice is presented. Although the ‘sexy dental hygienist’ trope was quite unnecessary.

My highlight was Dawn Ewing and Mark Briener‘s explanations of how every tooth sits on two or more meridians, which is the main mechanism for the whole body health impacts of root canals. This is incredibly useful information to apply to any oral health problem, not just root canals. I was thrilled to see it explained clearly in a mainstream context.

Almost as an aside towards the end, the Netflix documentary mentioned that everyone processes root canals differently. Some people are much more susceptible than others to being affected by toxic root canals.

Let me repeat that, because it wasn’t emphasized enough in Root Cause: not everyone gets sick from root canals.

The dangers of root canals which are explored in such great depth were eventually put into the context of the toxic overload that everyone of us is subjected to. Sustained, cumulative and insidious exposure to environmental toxins, toxic emotions, EMF (electro-magnetic frequencies including wifi), pathogens and of course junk food, overload the body which is already burdened with a root canal.

Recoiling in fear

By half way through the Root Cause documentary, my cortisol was so elevated by the graphic, gruesome root canal footage paired with a barrage of cancer statistics. So much so that it was hard to actually hear those quiet voices of reason at the end.

Root Cause uses horror genre film-making techniques (e.g. structure, filters and music) to manipulate our emotions.The sunshine and humour of the first act, contrasted with the dark intensity of main act, are all very effectively scary and disempowering.

Unfortunately fear and powerlessness, along with anger and grief, are toxic emotions which may actually exacerbate the impact of root canals on our health.

Many Netflix viewers are urgently seeking ways to remove their root canals safely because it’s almost impossible to watch and not feel scared. Unless you reject everything Root Cause says.

There’s plenty of dental professionals (a majority) who are using Root Cause’s dodgy statistics and misquotes to dismiss the whole argument about root canal risks. Mainstream dentists are publishing mocking reviews and associations of dental professionals worldwide are lobbying Netflix to take it down on the basis of poor science. Update: it appears that Netflix has now taken down Root Cause*, though it’s still available on Amazon.

And that’s the real problem, because important information is half-hidden in amongst the dramatic license of Root Cause. Root canals are to frequently recommended with little regard to the risks they may carry for some people.

Balance and tolerance

The Root Cause documentary didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know from seven years of research into root canals. I was already familiar with many of the experts that were selectively quoted. Having read widely and in-depth enabled me to put the documentary’s messages in context that many viewers lacking background knowledge would miss.

Root canals can contribute to serious health problems for some people. Most root canals contain bacteria, and along with cavitations, may be a contributing factor with some cases of chronic degenerative and/or autoimmune conditions.

However, everybody is different. We all have a different ability to tolerate a root canal. 

Most people will not develop heart disease, cancer or chronic fatigue from their root canal. But for some people, removing the root canal may help you to recover your health.

Many people are able to tolerate a root canal without health problems for many years. Comparing a root canaled tooth to a toe with gangrene that must be amputated is inaccurate and unhelpful.

Not every case of breast cancer can be blamed on a root canal. The commonly quoted statistic that 90-something percent of breast cancer patients have a root canal on the same side cannot be traced to any published research. Even where a cancer patient does have an infected root canal, it not necessarily the cause.

Review of Netflix Documentary Root Cause

A broader holistic context

I’m a holistic oral health coach. When clients come to me with concerns about their root canal we also take into consideration the non-physical and energetic impacts of getting, removing or keeping it.

In addition to oral and whole body health impacts, we may explore:

  • family history
  • emotional issues
  • dental trauma,
  • social/professional consequences of extracting a tooth
  • the cost and accessibility of the procedure.

Root Cause follows the story of the director, Frazier Bailey. A white Australian man with the privilege of trying dozens of alternative therapies in his search for a cure to his mysterious malaise (the film includes a montage which seems to cover every new age modality- in mocking rhyme).

Once convinced that his root canal is behind his symptoms there seems to be no practical obstacles to getting it removed. Bailey never mentions the cost, or any difficulty in finding a co-operative dentist.

A safe removal and replacement of a single root canal can cost $10,000 and it’s common to need multiple appointments over 3-6 months. The removal process can also include:

  • the preliminary scan
  • tooth extraction
  • ozone cleaning of the jaw
  • rebuilding the jaw bone (if needed), and
  • installing an implant 3-6 months later.

That’s if you can find a dentist who will do it!

Not many dentists are willing to do this kind of procedure without evidence the the root canal has failed, so it’s not unusual to have to travel, sometimes internationally, if you are determined to have your root canal tooth extracted.

Removing a root canal safely is not an easily accessible option for many people, and this documentary has left them feeling scared for the root canals they have little choice but to keep.

There are holistic strategies, including herbs, homeopathics and energy healing that can help to mitigate the physical and metaphyscial impacts of root canals, so that the body can tolerate them well.

In conclusion

Admittedly, Root Cause set my teeth on edge from the very beginning with its sexist montage of women in bikinis. I tried to put aside my objections to the objectification of women’s bodies that cropped up all too often throughout the film… because what does the gratuitous male gaze have to do with root canals?  

I squirmed to see another condescending montage, as the main character rhymed his way through alternative therapies with no regard to the cultural context from which many of modalities have been extracted… because all those therapies weren’t the point of the documentary either.

Nonetheless, I kept watching, despite my discomfort with Root Canal‘s tone, because I want to know why so many people have suddenly started requesting my Root Canal Decision Checklist. This checklist is a free resource available on my website that didn’t get much attention until Root Cause was released on Netflix.

But in fact, the casual sexism and cultural insensitivity of Root Cause are completely aligned with its fear-mongering central message presented through a lens of privilege.

Mainstream dentist’s patronising and negative Root Cause reviews find plenty of material in the film that is deserving of valid criticism. So by itself the documentary is unlikely to sway any dental professionals currently committed to root canals.

The only way that the dental industry is ever going to look critically at the consequences of root canals is if a sufficient mass of their customers expect their concerns to be taken seriously.

Thanks to Netflix, mainstream dental practices are experiencing an increased number of patients refusing root canals, requesting removals and ultimately seeking more sympathetic providers.

Root Cause, for all it’s many flaws, is provoking a new wave of consumer demand that dentistry continues to dismiss at its own peril.

___________________________________

*Update: On the day I published this post, Root Cause was suddenly removed from Netflix. It was unexpected; Root Cause was not included in Vulture’s list of 42 movies planned to be removed from Netflix in February 2019. As yet, there is no explanation for this removal. Why did Netflix take down Root Cause? Was it responding to pressure from dental associations?

 

Meliors Simms headshot

Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.

As a natural oral health coach I have worked with hundreds of clients worldwide to avoid unnecessary dental procedures and have better experiences with the necessary ones. (Find out about my coaching services here).

After a diverse career (from research to counselling to arts) and a lifetime of terrible teeth, I stumbled on an Alt Oral approach which prevented what would have been my 7th root canal.

That inspired years of independent research and experimentation, eventually resulting in my uniquely holistic approach to oral health.

My new book The Secret Lives of Teeth is a comprehensive guide to healing teeth and gums with metaphysical perspective. Read a sample here for free

.

 

Relax your jaw for teeth relief

Why relax your jaw There's almost no teeth or gum problems that can't be helped when you relax your jaw! Carrying tension in the jaw is so common that it's almost universal.  Are you one of the millions of people who use a night guard to try and prevent jaw tension...

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably...

Removing Root Canals

How long can a root canal last? In Part 1 of this two part article about root canals, I told the story of my first, traumatic, root canal on a front tooth more than thirty years ago. I still have that root canal right in the front of my mouth. Over the years it...

Removing Root Canals

Removing Root Canals

How long can a root canal last?

In Part 1 of this two part article about root canals, I told the story of my first, traumatic, root canal on a front tooth more than thirty years ago.

I still have that root canal right in the front of my mouth. Over the years it gradually became discolored. I called it my grey tooth and would try to hide it in photos.

It felt like the most visible marker of my bad teeth I could feel it growing weaker and tried to avoid biting into crunchy food on that side.

Then, about 8 years ago, it snapped in half on a cookie. Now my grey tooth was a blackened stump hovering over a gap.

It wasn’t painful, it wasn’t dangerous, but the shame was overpowering. To my mind, nothing screamed ‘desperately poor’ like a missing front tooth.

As soon as I could get to a dentist, I got a crown which involved inserting a post through the stump roots, into the gum, crowned to match the rest of my teeth.

Good news: no more grey tooth. Bad news: the crown was even more fragile than the dead tooth and snapped off within a few months, leaving me with a blackened stump/steel post/gap in the middle of my mouth, in the middle of a job search.

I had to find a new dentist and borrow money to pay for another crown. With the new crown I avoided biting cookies, carrots and apples. But within months it had broken on a piece of toast.

I asked for the replacement crown to be made shorter for better stability. It has only needed to be replaced once in seven years. I don’t mind the short tooth, even though gives me a lisp.

removing-root-canals

Root canals and your health

There is a growing awareness of how a root canal can affect one’s general health due to toxification of bacteria in the tiny tubules of the roots. This can lead to inflammation in the mouth or elsewhere in the body, especially along the meridians (microscopic energetic channels) that connect each tooth to organs, sinuses, sense organs, vertebrae, muscles, tissues, joints and glands.

Root canals have been implicated in the onset of degenerative diseases such as arthritis, heart valve problems, breast cancer, gall bladder disease, eczema, cystitis, colitis, migraines, sinusitis, hypertension coronary artery disease and thyroid disease.

Many people have found that debilitating symptoms such as problems with digestion, fatigue, headaches or skin, that couldn’t be diagnosed or cured conventionally actually disappeared when they had a root canaled tooth removed.

There is a contentious debate between dentists who unquestioningly advocate doing root canals to ‘save the tooth’ and those who believe all root canals are toxic and must be removed for safety. On one side they compare a toxic root canal to an infection under your fingernail to treat with antibiotics, and other side they compare it to a gangrenous toe that must be amputated.

I believe that both and neither argument is correct, because some of us are more resilient and able to tolerate a root canal, and its potential toxicity, better than others. This resilience can change over time and in response to different circumstances.

Should you remove your root canal?

Many people can tolerate a root canal well and it is possible to live for decades without a root canal causing problems. 

My first root canal is now over 30 years old and of the five more I have had done since, two remain in my mouth.  My overall health is pretty good but I know that the longer a root canal is in place, the more one is at risk.

Symptoms of an autoimmune condition or degenerative disease would certainly make me question whether I should remove one or more of my root canals.

However, I work with a kinesiologist who monitors the level of toxicity in the root canal and any adverse affects through out the body, especially on associated meridians. I’m confident that I am managing the risk with a healthy lifestyle and close monitoring.

I’ve created a checklist of ten questions to help monitor the stability and potential impact of a root canal on general health, which you can download now.

This is my checklist of questions to ask both before getting a new root canal and when considering removing one. Most of the questions are the same in both situations, and the checklist includes a separate discussion for how to interpret your answers when considering a removal.

Assessing your root canal

If, like me, you have root canaled teeth in your mouth right now, what should you do?

Some professionals will advise removal in every case.

However, many people can cope with one for years, or at least tolerate the consequences of root canal toxicity for years.

The first question to ask about your existing root canal is whether you have symptoms that suggest toxic influences from the root canal.

If you have a degenerative disease or symptoms in related body parts for that tooth, there is a reasonable likelihood of a root canal connection.

Conventional medical tests will probably not pick up whether the tooth is connected, but alternative tests such as Applied Kineseology or AEV (Electro-acupuncture) or consulting with a Medical Intuitive or Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner may help give you some guidance.

If there are no obvious symptoms, but you are concerned about future risks, I recommend going through the Root Canal Questions Checklist for a holistic perspective on your options.  Maintaining a healthy, low stress lifestyle and monitoring your health closely can help you to manage the risks of living with a root canal. 

On the other hand, if your root canal seems to be connected to serious health problems in the rest of your body, removing the tooth may alleviate your symptoms or may even cure the disease.

Extracting a root canal

Removing an existing root canal means extracting the tooth.

Extraction carries it’s own risks which are increased when the underlying problem that led to the root canal procedure and/or contributed to it’s intolerable toxicity has not been addressed.

If jaw tension, poor nutrition, poor hygiene or emotional issues triggered the infection or decay that led to your root canal, those same issues may also make you more vulnerable to a ‘failed root canal’, may provoke disease elsewhere along your meridians, may lead to cavitation after an extraction or an implant being rejected by the body.

Cavitation is an infection in the jaw bone which can gradually erode bone density and lead to inflammation in the mouth and elsewhere in the body especially those parts connected to the tooth’s meridians. Cavitation (which is a risk associated with all types of extractions) can take years to develop noticeable symptoms.

Watch this space

Eventually extractions (of any kind) may lead to bone loss, misaligned teeth, and perhaps issues with the opposing teeth as well (the risk is higher if the gap is left unfilled).

You will have to choose between an implant, a partial (false tooth) or leaving a gap. 

None of these is an ideal option and for many people losing a tooth is a major barrier to choosing to remove a root canal tooth, especially if there are no obvious symptoms of toxicity.

Furthermore, few conventional dentists seem willing to remove an apparently healthy (at least by conventional dental standards) root canaled tooth.  There are actually very few dentists worldwide who actively encourage the removal of root canals (they generally prefer to do over the root canal – do overs of failed root canals account for two of my six root canal procedures).

Working with a root canal removal specialist can cost $10,000* for multiple visits to prepare for the extraction, laser clean after extraction to prevent cavitation and eventually filling the gap with an implant (*this kind of service seems to cost about the same in both USD and AUD).

removing-root-canals

Living well with your root canal

For many people, removing a root canal is not affordable, accessible or perhaps even desirable.

Once you have a root canal in your mouth there is no ideal outcome, so you need to feel confident that you are making the best decision for your unique needs and circumstances (recognising this may change over time). 

If the best decision right now is to keep your root canal in place, at least until you can find or afford a dentist to remove it safely and replace it appropriately, what’s next?

The same strategies that may heal and prevent decay in your living teeth are the foundation for tolerating a root canal, even if there is toxicity.

Nourishing food, herbs and supplements increase your body’s resilience and help your elimination organs to deal with root canal toxins effectively.

Relaxing the jaw enables your innate bodily systems designed to flush out toxins to function better.

Safe and effective oral hygiene habits help keep the oral cavity healthy to avoid provoking more toxicity in the root canal.

Perhaps most importantly though, working energetically with your meridians (and the rest of your energetic body) may help you to tolerate and perhaps even to heal a toxic root canal.  Some of the modalities that work energetically with meridians include kinesiology, acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine and the kind of intuitive healing that I practice with my clients.

Meliors Simms headshot

Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.

As a natural oral health coach I have worked with hundreds of clients worldwide to avoid unnecessary dental procedures and have better experiences with the necessary ones. (Find out about my coaching services here).

After a diverse career (from research to counselling to arts) and a lifetime of terrible teeth, I stumbled on an Alt Oral approach which prevented what would have been my 7th root canal.

That inspired years of independent research and experimentation, eventually resulting in my uniquely holistic approach to oral health.

My new book The Secret Lives of Teeth is a comprehensive guide to healing teeth and gums with metaphysical perspective. Read a sample here for free

.

 

Relax your jaw for teeth relief

Why relax your jaw There's almost no teeth or gum problems that can't be helped when you relax your jaw! Carrying tension in the jaw is so common that it's almost universal.  Are you one of the millions of people who use a night guard to try and prevent jaw tension...

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably...

Removing Root Canals

How long can a root canal last? In Part 1 of this two part article about root canals, I told the story of my first, traumatic, root canal on a front tooth more than thirty years ago. I still have that root canal right in the front of my mouth. Over the years it...

Getting Root Canals

Getting Root Canals

Should I get a root canal?

These days, getting root canals is a controversial dental procedure but thirty years ago when I had my first root canal done at age 17, I didn’t question what was being done to me.

I will never forget the throbbing, terrifying and debilitating pain so deep inside my head that I didn’t even recognize it as toothache.  A friend drove me to the Otago Dental School where they couldn’t see a cavity to blame for the pain. After a consultation involving a crowd of students, the supervising dentist advised drilling a hole in the back of my right lateral incisor. An overpoweringly shameful smell of rotten meat seemed to flood the huge teaching clinic, confirming that they had pinpointed the infected tooth.

In the three decades since my first root canal, books like The Toxic Tooth by Robert Kulacz and Root Canal Cover-Up by Dr George Meinig have raised public awareness that a ‘high percentage of chronic degenerative disease can originate from root filled teeth’ (Meinig).

However, most dentists continue to recommend and perform root canals without hesitation while most holistic dentists believe all teeth with root canals should be removed.

When professionals are so divided it can be hard to make a decision for your own teeth, especially if you are in pain.

I believe that because everyone is unique, with different combinations of genetics, lifestyle, dental history, family histories, personal health, budgets and priorities there can be no simple answer to the question ‘should I get a root canal?’.

That’s why I’ve developed a list of questions designed to help tease out the aspects of each unique situation that may have a bearing on a root canal decision.

The majority of questions to be considered are actually the same for either getting or removing a root canal. However, your answers may lead you to a different conclusion, depending on whether you are getting new root canal or having an old one removed.  

This article is split into two parts, Part 1 (this post) is for people who are considering a new root canal. Part 2 is for people who have a root canal already and who are considering its removal.

DisclaimerPlease be aware that I am not a dental professional and I am offering information for educational purposes only. If you are thinking about acting on the basis of any information in this article, I encourage you to do your own additional research, use your own common sense and take responsibility for your own health choices. However, do not delay in addressing any infection in your mouth, because if left untreated, there can be serious, long-term health consequences, up to, and including, death.

getting root canals

What is a root canal?

The root canal procedure involves the removal of the pulp (nerve, blood and lymphatic tissue) from within the hollow roots (canals) of the tooth.

The canal is sterilized and then packed with a material that seals off the canal. The idea is to quarantine the sterilized canal to keep it free from further infection.

Once the root is packed and sealed, a crown or filling is built up to recreate the original shape of the tooth and provide a biting surface (this is often done at a second appointment, with a temporary filling in place for a few weeks between).

To understand why so many people consider root canals to be a health risk, you need to know the anatomy inside your teeth.

Enamel is the outside covering of the tooth, dentin is the material under the enamel and pulp fills the canal at the center of the tooth, extending down into the roots.

getting root canal
The dentin is made of millions of tiny tubes whose job is to transport nutrients and oxygen from the pulp out to the enamel, which like dentin, is made up of microscopic tubes.

These tubes in the dentin and the enamel can also carry fluids from the saliva into the enamel and through the dentin down into pulp and eventually via the bloodstream to the rest of your body.

The tubes are so tiny, and so numerous that if the tubes from just one tooth were laid end to end they would be three miles long!

Mark A Briener, dentist and author of Whole Body Dentistry declares ‘it is absurd to believe all those millions of tiny tubules could possibly be “sterilized” during the process of performing a root canal.’

After the procedure, any bacteria unavoidably left behind in the sealed tubes begins to metabolise anaerobically and give off toxins that can enter the bloodstream and attack the parts of your body that are genetically weak or under stress.

Assessing root canal risks

Before you decide to get a root canal, its a good idea to assess how much you are at risk.

To help you to make a personal risk assessment quickly and comprehensively, I’ve discussed the 10 questions below into a downloadable checklist to help you interpret your answers to make a decision.

Screenshot and save or print The Root Canal Decision Checklist below and use it to help make a decision about treatment quickly, even if your thoughts are fogged with pain or drugs.

Some of the questions are for yourself to answer, perhaps with the help of your family.

Your dentist, doctor or other health professionals may be able to help answer other questions based on an examination or interview.

You may also choose to get some tests to get more certainty.

The Root Canal Decision Checklist

How strong is my immune system? 

How good is my overall health? 

Is there a family history of degenerative diseases?

What other body parts does this tooth relate to and how resilient are they? 

Am I willing to risk bacterial infection?

Is a root canal being recommended for a cavity that has already exposed the root?

Do we know for sure exactly which tooth is causing the problem?

Is laser sterilization an option?

Could I live without this tooth for chewing or looks? 

What is my budget? What are the costs of the root canal, alternatives or possible follow up procedures? 

I hope these questions help you to make the best decision about whether or not to get a new root canal. If you already have a root canal, and are considering having it removed,  read Part 2 of this article about existing root canals.

Meliors Simms headshot

Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.

As a natural oral health coach I have worked with hundreds of clients worldwide to avoid unnecessary dental procedures and have better experiences with the necessary ones. (Find out about my coaching services here).

After a diverse career (from research to counselling to arts) and a lifetime of terrible teeth, I stumbled on an Alt Oral approach which prevented what would have been my 7th root canal.

That inspired years of independent research and experimentation, eventually resulting in my uniquely holistic approach to oral health.

My new book The Secret Lives of Teeth is a comprehensive guide to healing teeth and gums with metaphysical perspective. Read a sample here for free

.

 

Relax your jaw for teeth relief

Why relax your jaw There's almost no teeth or gum problems that can't be helped when you relax your jaw! Carrying tension in the jaw is so common that it's almost universal.  Are you one of the millions of people who use a night guard to try and prevent jaw tension...

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably...

Removing Root Canals

How long can a root canal last? In Part 1 of this two part article about root canals, I told the story of my first, traumatic, root canal on a front tooth more than thirty years ago. I still have that root canal right in the front of my mouth. Over the years it...