Endodontic dentistry or endodontics is a branch of dentistry that
specializes in the treatment of the inside of the tooth, including
tooth enamel and nerve pulp. If tooth decay is not treated in time,
it will spread deeper into the teeth causing the the tooth pulp
tissue to die. This can lead to loss of the tooth. An injury or
disease that affects the insides of a tooth is treated with the help
of endodontic dentistry.
There are many procedures performed in endodontic dentistry; many
of these procedures are performed to relieve pain in the teeth
caused by inflammation and infection of the pulp. Given below are
the three most commonly performed endodontic procedures.
Root canal
therapy- Root canal therapy is
carried out when inflammation and/or infection below the tooth
causes unbearable pain, sometimes an abscess, and threatens the
existence of the tooth. The dentist creates a small opening in the
crown of the tooth to reach the infected pulp; he scrapes away the
pulp leaving behind the root canal which is cleaned and sealed. The
final step is to place a crown on the tooth.
Internal tooth bleaching - Internal
tooth bleaching is carried out for those who wish to whiten their
teeth after endodontic treatment. Teeth become devitalized and
stained from the inside from blood and other fluids. A peroxide gel
is placed in the cleaned root area and it whitens the teeth from
inside.
Endodontic retreatment - An endodontic
retreatment is performed if after root canal therapy, the tooth has
not healed as expected or if the pain continues. Endodontic
retreatment can be necessary for various reasons, such as saliva
contamination, complicated canals missed during the first treatment,
crown placement was delayed, etc.
Apicoectomy - Apicoectomy or root end
surgery is carried out when a root canal treatment and subsequent
endodontic retreatment fails to completely treat pulp infection and
inflammation. The root tip along with the infected tissue is removed
in an apicoectomy. An apicoectomy is carried out using an operating
microscope and is also known as endodontic microsurgery.
