A documentary film called Root Cause has been removed from the streaming service Netflix after being widely criticised by dental organisations worldwide. The feature length documentary film revived the theories promulgated by the now discredited Weston Price whose focal infection theory questioned the safety of root canal treatments.

In the 1920s, Weston Price blamed endodontic treatment for a variety of systemic diseases and argued it was preferable to extract teeth.

From time to time his theories have been resurrected and then swiftly debunked. The decision by Netflix to create and air their programme has been condemned by many organisations. The British Endodontic Society responded by adding information to the news page1 of its website under the heading Exploding Endodontic Myths and linking to a position statement from the European Society of Endodontology. This said the movie put forward 'unfounded and malicious' claims and that root canal treatment is one of the best documented and safest procedures for preventing and curing oral infections and thus prevent and treat rather than cause systemic complications.

The BDA sent an email to members in which it warned the film was 'propagating misinformation about systemic health problems supposedly caused by root canal treatment.'

The BDA advised its members that if they encountered any concerns from patients, they could refer them to a patient leaflet.2