What Are Common Endodontic Treatments?
What is an Endodontist?
An Endodontist is a Dentist who has specialized education on how to deal with the diseases of the dental pulp and associated issues. Root canal treatment is the common name for the procedures most commonly performed by the Endodontist.
What Procedures Do Endodontists Perform?
There are several types of procedures that an Endodontist will do. As mentioned, root canals are the most common. However, there are several other procedures that are done by the Endodontic specialist. These treatments are a non-surgical root canal, endodontic re-treatment, endodontic microsurgery, and traumatic injury treatment. We also discuss with you root canal treatments vs. implants.
Non-surgical Root Canal Treatments:
These treatments are the ones we always hear our friends talk about. This is a routine root canal treatment that removes the diseased pulp (nerve) of the tooth and replaces it with a filling material that stops the progression or chance of infection within the tooth. Usually accompanied with pain, however, once started the infected tissue successfully removed will bring relief of pain. We here at the clinic believe in making you as comfortable as possible during this not so wonderful time.
Endodontic re-treatment:
This procedure is done when you have had a root canal in the past and it has had some complications. We will remove the old filling material out of the canal and remove any infection and then re-fill the canal with new material.
Endodontic Microsurgery:
When the root tip has become infected we need to treat that area specifically by doing the root canal through the root tip instead of the top of the tooth. We consider this a surgical procedure because it involves removing some of the gum tissue at the root and sometimes having to remove the root tip itself. This all depends on the amount of infection that has occurred.
Traumatic Injury Treatment:
This involves any root canal treatment caused by trauma. Such as getting hit in the mouth with a baseball or any other injury. Most common is the baseball to the face though and we are very used to treating these kinds of issues. When your child falls and hits their front teeth on the coffee table or what have you, then we will perform appropriate root canal treatment that will prevent the tooth from turning black or having pain associated with the trauma.
Root Canal vs. Implants:
Here we will discuss with you the pros and cons of implants and root canal treatment for the tooth in question. We will let you know everything from how secure the natural tooth is compared to the implant all the way to the difference in costs. We will tell you about recovery from each procedure and how they differ.
The Miraculous Field of an Endodontist
In the world of dentistry there all various positions. Some of these positions require an extra amount of training and education. Typically the more training, the more the yearly salary.
Every dentist is not an endodontist. In fact, only a small percentage of dentists practice in this particular field, under 3% to be exact. Endodontists require an extra two to three years of training. So, after the dental training has been satisfactorily completed, the student then began his training in this specialized field, bringing him/her to their goal.
The training consists mainly of learning about how to save diseased teeth. Normally, this is done by performing root canals. Intense training of how to perform a root canal will take place in this training. Endodontists in training first learn how to identify or recognize the need for a root canal. Those symptoms will most likely include a certain amount of pain. The patient will feel pain because the tooth has become infected/inflamed. The task of the endodontists is to remove the pulp that is in the inside of the tooth. After this area has been cleaned out the doctor will fill it with a substance called gutta-percha.
Students will become familiar with the different tools that are used to verify the need for a root canal. Some dental tools used are X-ray machines called panoramic or intraoral. The panoramic machine has the ability to take a snapshot of the entire mouth of the patient. The intraoral will takes pictures of one tooth at a time. Not only do dentists learn the correct usage of equipment they also learn when to use them. Mixing cement, so that the tooth can be filled, the usage of rubber dams, pluggers, etc are only some of the things the endodontist in training will learn.
Rubber dams are used when one tooth needs to be separated from the other. Pluggers are especially needed to fill a tooth during a root canal. The amount of training when it comes to how to use dental computer technology is also quite extensive.
The yearly pay of an Endodontists is an average of $209,000. However, that amount can be much higher, as much as nearly $300, 000. An Endodontists can stay in training until he/she has received their doctorate. The higher the education in this field can also determine the yearly salary. An Endodontists is a respected profession and one that is needed by thousands of Americans every day.
How Sore Will I Be Following Endodontic Therapy?
It is not a lasting soreness, because with the application of an ice pack, making some of the soreness go away if you want it to. Pain after a root canal is a normal situation. A root canal is all about deep cleaning inside the canals in your tooth, because of the inner chamber of the root becoming infected. The infection might hurt more than the root canal itself. The canals can irritate the inner chamber of the root of your tooth, which can irritate surrounding structures such as nerves. Endodontic Treatment is well worth the slight soreness that will be experienced.
The root canal is designed to prevent further pain-related issues about a decaying or fractured tooth. More pain beyond normal root canal pain means returning to your dentist to make sure that additional cleaning of the canals is or is not necessary. In the past, root canals used to be worse than they are now, with the help of modern technological changes. Local anesthetics help minimize the pain and pressure you might feel during the cleaning itself. The pain should not happen while in the middle of the procedure because that means the pain issue is worse.
Pain should only last a few days and is only going to require the use of over-the-counter pain medications for relief, such as acetaminophen, Tylenol, and ibuprofen, Advil, or Motrin IB. You cannot chew hard foods after a root canal, so don’t even try. This can cause you more pain than it is worth. You need to decrease root canal pain over time, but if you still have pain or swelling, you need to see your dentist. When your tooth is treated, you might wind up needing a crown on top of it to be able to make that tooth functional immediately after the procedure so you can chew.
The crown can be made of metal, porcelain or gold. The crown is something that is designed to prevent further damage to the tooth itself. Pain is a temporary side effect that you have to get used to when a new crown is installed in your mouth. You have to avoid hard, crunchy, or crispy foods until you can chew solid food without pain. Activities such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi are all the sorts of disciplines that help you not feel the pain as much or block it out in general. There are many ways of dealing with root canal pain. Learn more here about the incredible field of Endodontics.
Are there alternative treatments to endodontic therapy?
There is treatment such as a non-surgical root canal. Root canals are a type of endodontic treatment but there is an alternative to them. Non-surgical root canals are not as invasive as an average root canal. Root canals are mostly what endodontists perform but there is an easier alternative in the form of a non-surgical root canal, which is similar to a normal root canal in that there is drilling into the tooth but it is more like a really deep filling. Either way, you look at a root canal, the hole has to be filled.
A non-surgical root canal procedure means that they drill further than they would otherwise. Root canals require a crown sometimes in order to make sure that the tooth is protected from the work chewing takes. Endodontic work is attempting to save the tooth from the pulp of the tooth becoming infected. A tooth is made up of three layers, the enamel, and the dentin under that which surrounds the soft part of the tooth, which is the pulp. The pulp has the nerves that provide sensation such as pain or temperature of cold or warm foods.
Your tooth can function well once it is fully grown without its nerve supply because the pulp is the blood supply of the tooth, which is how the tooth is fed by the blood supply. The pulp needs to be removed when it becomes infected from injury or dental decay, which can happen to anybody. Bacteria can then manage to find its way to infiltrate the hard outer layers of the tooth to get into the pulp and cause infection. This infection might result in a tooth abscess that leads to further infection in the gums and bones surrounding the teeth.
If the infection is caught before it spreads to the gums or bones surrounding the teeth, the symptoms of severe tooth pain or jaw pain becomes extreme. It is also involving sensitivity to hot food or cold food or drinks that can continue even when the cause of the pain is removed. The sufferer notices a change in the color of the tooth or painful swelling in the gums surrounding the tooth because sometimes there are no symptoms that are not caught during a regular exam. Non-surgical root canals are not as painful as a surgical root canal and may be easier for some patients to deal with.