Root Cause is a

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

produced by Frazer Bailey. The film makes claims regarding symptoms and illness that purportedly can originate from

root canal treatment Root canal treatment (also known as endodontic therapy, endodontic treatment, or root canal therapy) is a treatment sequence for the infected pulp of a tooth that is intended to result in the elimination of infection and the protection of t ...

. The film has been denounced by dentists for making false and misleading claims.

Premise

The film follows the filmmaker's 10-year journey to solve his chronic fatigue and anxiety, starting with

mainstream medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

but then winding through a range of

alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...

practices, and finally arriving at the conclusion that his old root canals were the source of his ailments. In the film, root canal therapies are claimed to be associated with cancer, and it is suggested that pulling an infected tooth is a better approach. The film's trailer implies that root canals or infected teeth can lead to migraines, diabetes, lupus, fibromyalgia and heart disease. The film makes specific false claims of "97% of patients with breast cancer had a root canal on the same side as the cancer," and "the #1 cause of heart attack is root canal treated teeth," and that root canals result in inflammation leading to systemic disease.

Reception

The film was released in 2019 on Netflix, Amazon, Vimeo, iTunes, Google Play and YouTube. The

American Dental Association The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American professional dental association. Established in 1859 and with over 159,000 current members, ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association. The organization lobbies on behal ...

American Association of Endodontists The American Association of Endodontists, or AAE, is a non-profit organization of endodontists and other professionals with an interest in endodontics founded in 1943. Headquartered in the Two Prudential Plaza Building in Chicago, Ill., the Assoc ...

and the American Association of Dental Research sent a private letter to media companies hosting the film and warned them that "continuing to host the film could harm the viewing public by spreading long-disproven claims." The film was subsequently removed from

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

less than a month after its release, and later from

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

. Dentist Tom Pagonis writes that the film "rehash san old and disproven theory of focal infection disease — or that root canal treated teeth are responsible for practically every human chronic degenerative disease including the filmmaker's particular ailments." Dr. Fred Barnett, chair of dentistry and program director of

endodontics Endodontics () is the Specialty (dentistry), dental specialty concerned with the study and treatment of the dental pulp. Overview Endodontics encompasses the study (practice) of the basic and clinical sciences of normal dental pulp, the etiolo ...

Einstein Healthcare Network Einstein Healthcare Network is a private non-profit healthcare organization part of Jefferson Health based in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The healthcare network serves Greater Philadelphia and its flagship hospital is Einstein Medical Center ...

in Philadelphia said, "there hasn't been one valid medical or scientific study published anywhere that can show causation between having a root canal and developing cancer." The American Association of Endodontists wrote, "The film's premise is based on junk science and faulty testing conducted more than 100 years ago, that was first debunked in the 1950s". The president of the American Dental Association said the film "contains significant misinformation that is not supported by scientific evidence, which can cause unwarranted fear among viewers".

PolitiFact PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times ...

evaluated the film's claim that a root canal can shut down 63% of your immune system with, "We rate this claim about root canals leading to serious illnesses ''False''."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt7851798 Films about health care Documentary films about the human body