HIYA! What's the difference between having a root canal done and having a wisdom tooth pulled? I went to a dentist a few weeks ago. I've got a loose wisdom tooth that he said should be pulled. He said he'd have to do a root canal.

When a dentist does a root canal, the whole tooth, root and all comes out, right? It's the same with having a wisdom tooth pulled, right?

I've read a pretty fair amount regarding various oral health things. More than a few people say that "root canals" are dangerous procedures, so I declined.

Well, it's still loose. And, as I type. I'm munching on sesame seeds with no great pain. I wonder how long I can keep this up, just leave the loose wisdom tooth as it is, and don't put any great strain on it. There's a bit of pain but it is entirely bearable.

Troy.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

there is a big difference between a root canal and having a tooth pulled. A root canal is done normally to save a tooth that has a large cavity. Having a tooth pulled is having the tooth taken out of your mouth. You need to ask yourself why is the tooth loose. Is it loose due to decay? or is it loose due to some form of gum disease. Either way teeth are very important and you should take care of them. just my 2 cents

TroySantos,

If it's an erupted wisdom tooth, you should just have it pulled--it doesn't still need to be in your mouth in adulthood. Did you ask the dentist why he was recommending a root canal to boot? There might be a good reason, like the root is infected or something. Root canals are dangerous when they're unnecessary, because this can involve anesthesia or evacuation of bacteria into the bloodstream, which could affect the heart tissue. But sometimes not getting a root canal can result in worsening tooth, jaw, and conceivably, cardiac health. Please ask why a root canal was suggested.

I have just had a root canal because I had an abcess by my front tooth. The tooth was dead - the nerve had died but by having a canal treatment I kept the tooth. It's just been plugged if you like. It was a simple, painless process.

You do not need your wisdom teeth - if there is a problem just get the thing yanked out - far easier than messing about with canal treatment etc.

So, does having a wisdom tooth pulled mean there's nothing left there in the space where there had been a tooth? No root left? Nothing put in it's place?

I think I understand pretty well the dangers of root canals. To add to the mystery, I've read that root canal *therapy* is okay, whereas root canal *treatment* is not. I had never seen either of these words until I read about it not long ago. For years I'd only ever known of "having a root canal done". Didn't question it. I knew that it involved removing the whole root.

I didn't ask the dentist these questions because of language. I'm in South Korea and don't speak the language well enough to ask, and the dentist doesn't speak English all that well.

Troy.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

According to Victoria Bountenko, in her book, Green For Life, she says how wisdom teeth have only become a problem for us humans in very recent history (couple hundred years or less, can't remember). Her research showed her that wisdom teeth don't fit in many people's mouths because our jaws are narrower and smaller due to vitamin K deficiency in our mothers when they were pregnant with us. Hence, humans have a hard time chewing greens the way we should without wisdom teeth. This is one important point she makes for blending greens in "green smoothies,"...to have the blender masticate our greens for us. In other words, we haven't "evolved" to not need them anymore, we just suffer from the nutritional neglect of generations past. This started with the advent of the industrial revolution when processed, cooked foods became very popular and really changed mankind's health for the worse.

In my humble opinion, I would do what I could to keep the tooth, but not necessarily a root canal. There is a site you can check out. I don't know much about them, but it seems very interesting. This Doc/dentist says our teeth CAN heal themselves with proper mouth care and re-mineralization of the teeth. Darn, I just checked and I didn't save the link to the site. But this topic has been discussed on this forum before. I'll post the link when I find it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2009 01:57AM by musicbebe.

You know, I'll probably just hang on to the thing unless it seems to be causing trouble. Right now, no biggie. I'd appreciate the link if you find it.

I also have read that teeth can heal if we live "properly". I get more and more proper all the time!

Thanks.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

musicbebe,

I agree that even our teeth and jaws have an amazing capacity for self-healing. Also, that Vit K ediciency is endemic in the West. Oh, hell, probably everywhere else, too However, I remember when I read that stuff about wisdom teeth from Victoria Boutenko, whom I usually respect and admire, I was like, "ah, Soviet psuedo-science . . . " One of the ways forensic anthropologists identify the relative age of hominids tens of thousands or even millions of years old is by checking for presence of wisdom teeth. If we'd been having jaw-malforming mineralization problems for that long, none of us would be here typing away on computers today! Also, I'd rather not have mandible like a Neanderthal. Talk about lantern jaw : )

TroySantos,

Slightly afraid for your life with your non-English-speaking dentist. I am not an alarmist generally, but if you have an impacted wisdom tooth which may be generating an infection, this is nothing to fool around with. If you are already in some quasi pain or discomfort, this is probably a sign or something bad, rather than an indicator of healing. Is there any other dentist thereabouts who could give you a second opinion?

Tamukha,

Boutenko based her claim on Weston Price's research, showing that people groups who are still alive today have room for all their teeth....depending on whether they eat a traditional or "white man's" diet. Now, I'm not a fan of Weston's dietary bent (meat, etc...) but if you look at his photos and research, it does show that full mouth capacity can exist today, and it doesn't look ugly, but rather beautiful in my opinion. Here's a link: [westonaprice.org]

I'm not sure what to make of what scientists say about wisdom teeth and ancient dating methods...or if they are aware of weston's research?

Troy,

If you water fasted for a period of time, your tooth might get stronger rooted in your jawbone and no longer be loose.

I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled. Like musicbebe stated, our dental arch is narrower than it would be if were were raised eating raw foods. I've heard that it takes 2 generations of fruitarians before the dental arch returns to its wider arch, allowing space for the extra wisdom teeth.

A root canal and getting your wisdom teeth pulled are different. What a root canal does is to remove the pulp of the tooth, find in a canal in your tooth, thus killing the tooth. However, the tooth is left intact, and covered with a crown, and no denture is necessary.

Pulling out your wisdom tooth removes the tooth and the roots. For wisdom teeth, no denture is necessary because you can live without those teeth. But if it were another tooth other than the back molar, after an extraction you would need a false tooth, either a bridge or a dental implant.

Dentist like the root canal because no denture or false tooth is necessary. But there can be tons of problems with root canals, since the tooth is dead, it is vulnerable to infection and inflammation.

Also, dentists recommend root canals more than I think are necessary. If tooth decay drops into the canal where the pulp lives, a dentist will automatically recommend a root canal. However, the pulp may be healthy and quit resistant to infection. Read the Weston Price literature recommended by musicbebe above.

Bryan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled. Like
> musicbebe stated, our dental arch is narrower than
> it would be if were were raised eating raw foods.
> I've heard that it takes 2 generations of
> fruitarians before the dental arch returns to its
> wider arch, allowing space for the extra wisdom
> teeth.
>

Bryan I find your post very informative and giving very good advice. I definitely agree about our teeth being malformed from the beginning. That's why they need continual "treatment" and why our bones sometimes need extra calcium.

However are you suggesting Lamarckian evolution here? I know you're saying "I've heard" rather than "it happens", and some do think Lamarckian evolution can occur, but I'm just wondering if that's your stance...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2009 11:06PM by SuperInfinity.

SuperInfinity,

"Boutenko based her claim on Weston Price's research, showing that people groups who are still alive today have room for all their teeth....depending on whether they eat a traditional or "white man's" diet."

Huh?

The wisdom tooth doesn't hurt in the least unless I bite down directly on it. It's not giving me any pain and there's no inflammation. Although it's loose loose loose, I don't see any immediate need for pulling it. I'd love to be able to post someday that it's firm again!

Bryan, I have been planning for a long rest / sleep, like you did some years ago and posted about a couple of years ago. I will probably fast during part of the sleep, or, I don't know, maybe the entire period of rest / sleep.

And thanks for clearing up my confusion about the diference between a root canal and having a wisdom tooth pulled.

I'm wondering if my vision will return too. During the past few months I've noticed that words are blurry. I don't want glasses and the blur isn't that blurry yet.

Troy.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

I couldn't find the original link I was looking for, but here is a really great informative video related to the topic. I'm gonna try tooth soap!

[www.youtube.com]

This is the second video in the series about remineralization:

[www.youtube.com]

Don't worry about it, short-sightedness is only bad in today's society and is not necessarily indicative of some kind of problem. Very slight acne also is a natural thing, it's only with processed food that you get a frankenstein-like look.

Whatever the case think of the miserable uninspired people on SAD. A huge percentage of teenagers in the US need their wisdom teeth out before they even leave highschool, they don't even think of it as that big a deal or see it as a problem at all, stupid as they are. So next time an anti-fruit person tries to tell you that having too much fruit is bad because of your teeth, that's a handy fact to keep in mind. No matter how much fruit you eat you're very unlikely to be like that. Our teeth are malformed from the beginning.... sucks but if that's the only real argument they have against fruit it's pretty sad.

TroySantos Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The wisdom tooth doesn't hurt in the least unless
> I bite down directly on it. It's not giving me any
> pain and there's no inflammation. Although it's
> loose loose loose, I don't see any immediate need
> for pulling it. I'd love to be able to post
> someday that it's firm again!
>
> Bryan, I have been planning for a long rest /
> sleep, like you did some years ago and posted
> about a couple of years ago. I will probably fast
> during part of the sleep, or, I don't know, maybe
> the entire period of rest / sleep.
>
> And thanks for clearing up my confusion about the
> diference between a root canal and having a wisdom
> tooth pulled.
>
> I'm wondering if my vision will return too. During
> the past few months I've noticed that words are
> blurry. I don't want glasses and the blur isn't
> that blurry yet.
>
> Troy.

TroySantos Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> HIYA! What's the difference between having a root
> canal done and having a wisdom tooth pulled? I
> went to a dentist a few weeks ago. I've got a
> loose wisdom tooth that he said should be pulled.
> He said he'd have to do a root canal.
>
> When a dentist does a root canal, the whole tooth,
> root and all comes out, right? It's the same with
> having a wisdom tooth pulled, right?
>
> I've read a pretty fair amount regarding various
> oral health things. More than a few people say
> that "root canals" are dangerous procedures, so I
> declined.
>
> Well, it's still loose. And, as I type. I'm
> munching on sesame seeds with no great pain. I
> wonder how long I can keep this up, just leave the
> loose wisdom tooth as it is, and don't put any
> great strain on it. There's a bit of pain but it
> is entirely bearable.
>
> Troy.

Wisdom teeth extraction and root canals are different animals. A second opinion may well be in order here. I had my 4 removed and haven't regretted it a day in my life.

Best.

Paul



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2009 07:45PM by pborst.

When I read the book Let's Have Healthy Children by Adelle Davis, she is the nutritionist in the 50's that explained about crowded teeth and why and how to make sure kids don't get narrow bone structures where their teeth don't fit. The book was a great source for me at the time and introduced me to a healthier life-style, and I used many of her recommendations and that was 30 years ago.

If you find that book (they are becoming more rare even as used on Amazon.com) pick it up..it's interesting.

My teeth have had it all just about and I still really don't know about what is good to get done, and what is not..it's all confusing to me. Right now due to extensive work done on them they don't hurt and they look nice and I can eat..with a few things I would have done differently though with the last extensive work that was done.

Research, and find a dentist willing to explain clearly what he wants to do and what materials he is using..all materials he is using. At the very least you don't want any mercury in, on, or around your teeth. Maybe find a holistic dentist, and buy Money by the Mouthful which is a small book about holistic methods to clean up your gums and teeth.

Love,
Prism

I so appreciate that this forum exists. I super appreciate everyones' responses. I suppose I'll hang on to the wisdom tooth, at least for the time being.

Again, thanks so much everyone.

Love from me too,
Troy.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

not really to do with this but when i was in my late teens i had a 3rd set of teeth (or 2nd set of adult teeth) start to form and push thru the behind of my already adult teeth present . apparently its some genetic thing .. my twin brother had the same.

too bad they cant isolate that genetic thing somehow so we could stimulate new tooth growth where once there was one and now gone

of course all the extra teeth were surgically removed ..which as i recall was a horribly painful thing afterwards

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Jgunn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> not really to do with this but when i was in my
> late teens i had a 3rd set of teeth (or 2nd set of
> adult teeth) start to form and push thru the
> behind of my already adult teeth present .
> apparently its some genetic thing .. my twin
> brother had the same.
>
> too bad they cant isolate that genetic thing
> somehow so we could stimulate new tooth growth
> where once there was one and now gone
>
> of course all the extra teeth were surgically
> removed ..which as i recall was a horribly painful
> thing afterwards


Boy, thanks Jodi for clearing this up. I've read, I think on this very forum, where someone wrote to say that they'd had a tooth grow back (in place of what I forget) even though they had already reached adulthood.

So, you know dreamers.... I had thought that maybe I could do that too! But would the horrible pain be better than things we go through otherwise?!

Troy.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

Wow..that's amazing Jodi! Too bad they couldn't be left and not have shown up until needed as replacements.

Good luck Tony..teeth are really such a pain in the bu!!

Love,
Prism

hey troy well its called supernumerary teeth [en.wikipedia.org] this and a few other sites suggests it may also becaused by something environmental but i cant find any further information on that...also that it can happen in adults not just under 20years old

i think i remember that post too Troy ... i believe the person said the new tooth pushed out their dental implant or something like that?

hehe yea Prism wouldnt that be cool if they just stayed in place untill needed then dropped right down to replace bad teeth

if any biology buff here can translate what this site suggests [dev.biologists.org] how it happens .. and explain it in easy english i would be much obliged

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2009 06:57AM by Jgunn.