All dentists, including your general dentist, received training in endodontic treatment in dental school. General dentists can perform endodontic procedures along with other dental procedures, but often they refer patients needing endodontic treatment to endodontists.

Endodontists are dentists with special training in endodontic procedures. We provide only endodontic services in our practice because we are specialists.

To become an endodontist, one must complete dental school and an additional two or more years of advanced training in endodontics. We perform routines well as difficult and very complex endodontic procedures, including endodontic surgery.

Endodontists are also experienced at finding the cause of oral and facial pain that has been difficult to diagnose.

“Endo” is the Greek word for “inside” and “odont” is Greek for “tooth”. Endodontic treatment treats the inside of the tooth.

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 hollow space containing soft tissue called the pulp. The pulp contains blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue.

When a tooth has a deep cavity, filling, or a crack that communicates with the pulp, bacteria get inside. They cause inflammation in the pulp which can be painful. Eventually, the pulp dies and bacteria fill the space inside the root.

Endodontic treatment involves cleaning out that space and placing a special filling inside the root.

The endodontists removes the inflamed or infected pulp, carefully cleans and shapes the inside of the tooth, then fills and seals the space. 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 the restoration, the tooth continues to function like any other tooth. Turn to pages six and seven for a step-by-step explanation of the procedure.

Many endodontic procedures are performed to relieve the pain of toothaches caused by pulp inflammation or infection. With modern techniques and anesthetics most patients report that they are comfortable during the procedure. Many of our patients even fall asleep!

For the first few days after treatment, your tooth may feel sensitive, especially if there was pain or infection before the procedure. This discomfort can be relieved with over-the-counter or prescription medications. Follow your post operative instructions carefully.

Your tooth may continue to feel slightly different from your other teeth for some time after your endodontic treatment is completed. However, if you have severe pain or pressure, or pain that lasts more than a few days, please give our office a call.

When the pulp of a tooth is damaged, the only alternative to endodontic treatment is extraction of the tooth. To restore chewing function and to prevent adjacent teeth from shifting, the extracted tooth must be replaced with an implant, a bridge, or a partial denture.

Implants are great alternatives to teeth, but they are not perfect. They can also fail and require surgical removal and replacement. Occasionally, even after multiple attempts the implant may not work.

That's not to say you should never take out a tooth (and let's be honest, we are biased. We save teeth!), but in our humble opinion the decision to extract a tooth should not be taken lightly.

With proper care, most teeth that have had endodontic (root canal) treatment can last as long as other natural teeth.

In some cases, however, a tooth that has received endodontic treatment fails to heal. Occasionally, the tooth becomes painful or diseased months or even years after successful treatment.

The most common reason for a failing root canal treatment is bacteria remaining inside the root.

Retreatment involves removing the old root fillings and posts inside the tooth and cleaning out the entire length of the tooth and all of its complex anatomy.

Then, a new filling is placed inside the roots. If a crown was present on the tooth, we can often save the crown and do the work through a small hole in the chewing surface of the crown. That hole will be patched up with a filling after the treatment is completed.