ENDODONTICS

To understand endodontic treatment, it helps to know something about the anatomy of the tooth. Inside the tooth, under the white enamel and a hard layer called the dentin, is a soft tissue called the pulp. The pulp contains blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue, and creates the surrounding hard tissues of the tooth during development.

The pulp extends from the crown of the tooth to the tip of the roots where it connects to the tissues surrounding the root. The pulp is important during a tooth’s growth and development. However, once a tooth is fully mature is can survive without the pulp, because the tooth continues to be nourished by the tissues surrounding it.

How does endodontic treatment save the tooth?

Endodontic therapy (Root Canal Treatment) is significant because it is designed to save a tooth that otherwise would have to be removed or extracted.

Your tooth may have become infected or damaged that can lead to an infection or abscess in the root of your tooth due to:

• Decay

• Wear and Tear

• Due to injury

• Crack in your tooth

When you visit with severe toothache or an abscess in the mouth caused by an infected pulp. Your tooth is diagnosed using percussion, palpation, cold test and an x-ray. If it is determined that the tooth requires root canal treatment, the procedure will requires stages of treatments.

During the procedures, the inflamed or damaged pulp is removed, and the core of the tooth is thoroughly cleanse, disinfected, filled and sealed preventing future reinfection, thus preserving the tooth and avoid tooth extraction. Afterwards, you will return to your Dentist, who will place a crown or other restoration on the tooth to protect and restore it to full function. After restoration, the tooth continues to function like any other tooth.

Most endodontically treated teeth last as long as other natural teeth. In a few cases, a tooth that has undergone endodontic treatment fails to heal or the pain continues. Occasionally, the tooth may become painful or deceased months or even years after successful treatment. Often when this happens, another endodontic procedure can save the tooth.