Endodontics: Basic principles
Endodontics is a specialty that treats the roots of the tooth (root canals), in which the dental pulp is extracted. After removing it, the space is cleaned and disinfected to fill it with an inert and sterile material, seeking to heal the tissue and eliminate the symptoms. This procedure allows the patient to save their teeth and avoid or reduce the need for extraction of the tooth.
When is an endodontics necessary?
Root canals are performed in teeth that have deep cavities, which present inflammation or death (necrosis) of the dental pulp. Another reason for pulp inflammation (pulpitis) is some trauma or very rare, grinding teeth.
The dental pulp is the inside of the tooth, there are nerves and blood vessels. The inflammation of this pulp usually presents pain, with reactions to heat, cold or when eating or drinking food. The type of pain indicates whether endodontics is a good solution to the problem.
As we have said before, endodontics is the extraction of the nerve from the tooth (pulp). This procedure cleans the root canal system, removing bacteria and dead tissue to leave the canal clean and ready to be filled with a sterile substance. Generally, this procedure has the following phases:
Types of endodontics
There are three main endodontic treatments that vary according to the patient’s situation or the state of the tooth. These are: Endodontics or root canal treatment, endodontic retreatment and Periapical Surgery.
Endodontics or root canal treatment: It is the most common procedure and seeks to eliminate the content of the root canals.
Endodontic re-treatment: it is done when the symptoms persist after a first endodontics (or if there are injuries or infections). Through this procedure, the canal is cleaned and prepared to be filled and sealed again.
Periapical Surgery or Apicoectomy: Apicoectomy is performed when there is injury to the roots or symptoms persist; It is also carried out when the tooth has some condition that prevents performing another endodontic procedure.
We will make a more detailed explanation about the types of endodontics in future articles. For the moment we hope that this brief description of this specialty of dentistry has been very useful. If you have questions or want to request an appointment, then do not hesitate to contact us.