When is Endodontic Treatment Necessary?
One of the ways to prepare for any dental procedure effectively is by learning more about what it entails. If you are scheduled for an endodontic treatment soon, understanding the fine details of the treatment will help you know what to anticipate during your procedure. Better yet, understanding why you need the treatment will help you care for your teeth before and after your endodontic treatment.
What is Endodontic Treatment?
It is a dental procedure entailing treatment of the insides of a tooth. Many dental protocols in dentistry focus on repairing and restoring teeth enamels. Endodontic treatment is different because it treats the insides of a tooth first before restoring the crown. Endodontists have extra years of training after dental school that prepares them for all dental protocols of treating the interior of the tooth.
What Do Endodontic Treatments Entail?
Endodontic treatments at Dental Arts Clearwater are different, depending on the nature of the damage on a tooth. The most common approach in endodontics entails drilling a tooth enamel to create an access hole for cleaning the insides of teeth. The dentist then cleans the tooth pulp, eliminating all damaged soft tissues. Once the dentist has cleaned the roots properly, (s)he shapes it accordingly, creating ample room for a special filling called gutta-percha. Afterward, your dentist will fill the tooth before sealing and crowning it with a tooth filling and a dental crown.
In other cases, endodontic treatments are different. Instead of accessing the insides of the tooth through the crown, Dr. Cecilia Sorelle will access it through the gums through a procedure called an Apicoectomy. The focus is the roots of teeth, removing the infection directly from the base of the tooth root while leaving the top of your tooth in place.
Urgent dental problems may make your emergency dentist in Clearwater temporarily remove your natural tooth to perform an endodontic procedure on the tooth roots first. The extraction will expose your tooth. Roots and allow speedy treatment. Afterward, the dentist will restore the tooth in its socket. If the tooth structure is compromised, the dentist may recommend reinforcing it with a dental crown.
When Do You Need Endodontic Treatment?
When you visit a dentist near you, you may not acknowledge your need for endodontic treatment. Usually, it takes a comprehensive dental exam for your dentist in Clearwater to recommend an endodontic procedure. Some of the diagnoses that necessitate endodontic treatment are:
- The nerve of the tooth is exposed – many factors can expose the nerve of the tooth, including dental trauma causing a fracture of the tooth. One indicator that the tooth nerve is compromised is heightened tooth sensitivity.
- Severe tooth decay – dental decay is a common oral problem in dentistry. It occurs when acids and bacteria in your mouth damage the tooth structure, eventually forming cavities. Tooth cavities are holes that allow bacteria to access the inner layers of teeth, damaging their framework.
- Infected tooth root – other than nerve damage, endodontic treatment can treat infected tooth root. Infections develop at the roots of teeth as abscesses. They feature small pockets filled with pus. An endodontist in Clearwater will perform an Apicoectomy, targeting the swollen gums to drain the abscess.
Are Endodontic Treatments Painful?
In the past, patients experienced significant discomfort during endodontic treatment. However, modern dentistry has a provision for sedation dentistry and anesthesia that numbs the mouth to increase your comfort. Regardless of the approach of treatment your dentist uses, you will not feel any pain during your procedure. In anything, the entire point of the treatment is to treat your infection and rid you of dental pain. Therefore, any discomfort you experience on your tooth will be from the infection rather than the treatment.
After your procedure, however, you will experience some soreness due to the dental work. The soreness should not feel like a sharp or dull pain in your mouth. Since the dentist will have cleaned and removed the inner layers of your tooth, including damaged nerves, you should not experience any pain after your treatment. If it is the case for you, contact your dentist with well-detailed information about your experience after your treatment. It could be that you need endodontic retreatment to treat your tooth better.
