{"id":445,"date":"2026-07-24T16:01:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T16:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/?p=445"},"modified":"2026-07-24T16:01:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T16:01:54","slug":"root-canals-cancer-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Claim: \u201cDo Root Canals Cause Cancer?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/\" class=\"block-image-link\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-300x200.png\" alt=\"Woman holding a magnifying glass up to her eye\" class=\"wp-image-446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-400x266.png 400w, https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The idea that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/root-canal-therapy.html\">root canal treatments<\/a> can be harmful and should be avoided is one that has persisted since the early 1900\u2019s. Claims that they cause <em>cancer <\/em>specifically are more recent. Professional researchers and other organizations, however, continue to denounce these assertions and insist they\u2019re based on bad science. So who should you believe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In situations like these, it\u2019s important to take a step back and look at the facts. Here\u2019s what you should know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Origins of The Claim<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2018, Australian filmmaker Frazer Baily directed <em>Root Cause<\/em>, an autobiographical documentary about his struggle to find the source of his chronic insomnia, fatigue, and anxiety. Baily eventually concludes that a root canal treated tooth was the cause of his symptoms, saying that after it was extracted, his quality of life improved. The film also highlights claims that root canals cause cancer and other whole-body illnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is A Root Canal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal of a root canal treatment is to remove an infection that exists <em>inside <\/em>of a tooth. It involves drilling a small hole in the tooth, removing the bacteria causing the infection, and filling the \u201ccanal\u201d with gutta percha \u2013 a natural material derived from the sap of <em>Palaquium<\/em> trees. Most of the time, a root canal-treated tooth is also capped with a crown or supported with dental bonding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Science of Infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you scrape your knee, you would treat it with a sterilizing spray and\/or cover it with a bandage. Why? To prevent the injury from becoming infected. It\u2019s easy to take for granted in modern society, but even a \u201csmall\u201d infection can cause serious medical complications. They can even become deadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oral infections are no different, except that the body can\u2019t fight them off like it can in other areas. An infection that develops inside a tooth <em>will <\/em>spread if left untreated. In severe cases, infected bacteria have been known to travel from the mouth to the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Does Cancer Form?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Scientists are still working to understand cancer more fully, but they do know that it forms when the DNA within a cell is damaged or mutated in some way. These \u201cinfected\u201d cells can multiply rapidly and eventually spread throughout the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many things can trigger this event, including dangerous chemicals, radiation exposure, and lifestyle factors such as tobacco usage and alcohol consumption. Bacterial infections, however, are another possible and notable cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There isn\u2019t anything about the root canal procedure itself that could cause cancer. Even the material used to fill the canal, gutta percha, is considered biocompatible and is generally well-tolerated by the body. Actually, since root canals remove harmful bacteria and infection, they help <em>reduce <\/em>the risk of cancer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The claim that root canals cause cancer is problematic for a number of reasons. At the end of the day, though, it simply doesn\u2019t match up with what\u2019s scientifically known about cancer and infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/meet-your-dentist.html\">Dr. Tommy Murph<\/a> has over 25 years of experience in dentistry and is an active international lecturer. He has a conservative treatment philosophy and provides same-day emergency services when patients need it most. If you have a tooth infection, Dr. Murph will avoid extraction and restore your health with a careful root canal procedure if at all possible. To <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/contact.html\">contact his office<\/a> for urgent dental care or a routine appointment, call 843-488-4357.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The idea that root canal treatments can be harmful and should be avoided is one that has persisted since the early 1900\u2019s. Claims that they cause cancer specifically are more recent. Professional researchers and other organizations, however, continue to denounce these assertions and insist they\u2019re based on bad science. So who should you believe? In situations like these, it\u2019s important to take a step back and look at the facts. Here\u2019s what you should know. <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/\">(Read More)<\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Exploring the Claim: \u201cDo Root Canals Cause Cancer?\u201d | American Dental Care<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The idea that root canal procedures can be harmful has existed since the 1900\u2019s. Here\u2019s a scientific perspective about this claim.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Exploring the Claim: \u201cDo Root Canals Cause Cancer?\u201d | American Dental Care\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"The idea that root canal procedures can be harmful has existed since the 1900\u2019s. Here\u2019s a scientific perspective about this claim.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image.png\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/root-canals-cancer-claim\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/root-canals-cancer-claim\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"youramerican\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/72e35c8e58cb5970e0d2c57d2e02258f\"},\"headline\":\"Exploring the Claim: \u201cDo Root Canals Cause Cancer?\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-24T16:01:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-24T16:01:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/root-canals-cancer-claim\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":571,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/root-canals-cancer-claim\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/image-300x200.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/root-canals-cancer-claim\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/root-canals-cancer-claim\\\/\",\"name\":\"Exploring the Claim: \u201cDo Root Canals Cause Cancer?\u201d | American Dental Care\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/root-canals-cancer-claim\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/root-canals-cancer-claim\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/image-300x200.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-24T16:01:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-24T16:01:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/72e35c8e58cb5970e0d2c57d2e02258f\"},\"description\":\"The idea that root canal procedures can be harmful has existed since the 1900\u2019s. Here\u2019s a scientific perspective about this claim.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/root-canals-cancer-claim\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/root-canals-cancer-claim\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/image.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/image.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":333},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Dental Care Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/72e35c8e58cb5970e0d2c57d2e02258f\",\"name\":\"youramerican\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Exploring the Claim: \u201cDo Root Canals Cause Cancer?\u201d | American Dental Care","description":"The idea that root canal procedures can be harmful has existed since the 1900\u2019s. Here\u2019s a scientific perspective about this claim.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Exploring the Claim: \u201cDo Root Canals Cause Cancer?\u201d | American Dental Care","twitter_description":"The idea that root canal procedures can be harmful has existed since the 1900\u2019s. Here\u2019s a scientific perspective about this claim.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image.png","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/"},"author":{"name":"youramerican","@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/72e35c8e58cb5970e0d2c57d2e02258f"},"headline":"Exploring the Claim: \u201cDo Root Canals Cause Cancer?\u201d","datePublished":"2026-07-24T16:01:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-24T16:01:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/"},"wordCount":571,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-300x200.png","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/","url":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/","name":"Exploring the Claim: \u201cDo Root Canals Cause Cancer?\u201d | American Dental Care","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-300x200.png","datePublished":"2026-07-24T16:01:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-24T16:01:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/72e35c8e58cb5970e0d2c57d2e02258f"},"description":"The idea that root canal procedures can be harmful has existed since the 1900\u2019s. Here\u2019s a scientific perspective about this claim.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/24\/root-canals-cancer-claim\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image.png","width":500,"height":333},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/","name":"American Dental Care Blog","description":"","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/72e35c8e58cb5970e0d2c57d2e02258f","name":"youramerican"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":447,"href":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions\/447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youramericandentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}