No one ever wants to get a root canal. But if you do need one, a new study suggests the dental procedures may have an added bonus: They seem to offer both short- and long-term protective benefits thatextend beyond the mouth, including potentially lowering cholesterol and the risk of heart disease or Type 2 diabetes.

In the study, published this week in the Journal of Translational Medicine,researchers followed 65 patients who had a common dental infection called apical periodontitis. Around half of all adults have had at least one tooth with apical periodontitis, according to some estimates.

The patients had an endodontic treatment, either surgery or a root canal, on the infected tooth. During a root canal, a dentist or endodontist cleans out the inside of a tooth - including all the ner

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