Patient Education
If you are reading this page,
it probably means that your General Dentist has referred you to see an
Endodontist for consultation and/or treatment on one or more of your teeth. You
may be thinking, “what is an Endodontist and why am I being referred?”
An Endodontist is
a dental specialist who deals with infections that occur inside the tooth. You
might be experiencing pain to hot or cold temperatures, biting, swelling, gum
sensitivity, abscess, discoloration of the tooth, or you may have no symptoms at
all. You might be experiencing these symptoms because of deep decay, trauma,
chipping, cracking, or repeated dental procedures. In some cases, the inside of
a tooth (called the pulp) dies, or becomes necrotic, for no apparent reason.
There are several
ways in which Endodontists save teeth that have infections or necrosis, but most
common procedure is called a root canal treatment. More than 14 million teeth
receive some form of root canal treatment each year—you’re not alone. Moreover, you’re in good hands. All Endodontists complete two years of post
doctorate education to become a specialist. That’s approximately 10 years of
college.
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Every tooth consists of three different layers. From the
outside, first there is Enamel (the outer layer of the
teeth which is the hardest part of the body). The second
layer is Dentin (the inside hard layer) and then we have
the Pulp (which is an empty space where the live tissue
and nerve of each tooth is located).
If for any reason the pulp space is exposed to the
outside, the tissue becomes contaminated and eventually
infected. The
exposure of pulp happens in many circumstances for
example when you have a large cavity, or a fractured
tooth. Your dentist can explain the exact reason for
damage to this tissue. Regardless of the reason for this
contamination or damage to pulp tissue, the treatment is
usually Root canal treatment.
Root canal treatment is the process of going inside the
pulp space and removing the infected and dead tissue.
Then the space is disinfected and sealed with special
materials.
Now-a-days, root canal treatments are performed with
advanced techniques and material and are
more comfortable and faster. After root canal treatment
is done your restorative dentist will usually place a
crown
on you tooth to protect it against fracture.
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 When
a root canal treatment fails, the first course of action
that is usually taken is trying to re-do the root canal
treatment. It is usually done by an Endodontist (root
canal specialist) or an experienced general dentist.
The
process is very similar to
Root canal Treatment,
the difference is that besides taking any remaining
infected tissue out, the doctor has to take old filling
material, any posts and crowns or any other obstacle in
the pulp space out to be able to successfully disinfect
and seal the area of the root canal.
After the root canal treatment is done your restorative
dentist will place a crown to protect the tooth against
fractures.
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