Below you can find useful questions and answers regarding the services provided.
Do you have any questions regarding the services of our practice?
We have collected the most common questions you ask us and we have made the following guide for your immediate service. Refer to the question you are interested in and read the corresponding answers.
In case you do not find the question or answer you are interested in, do not hesitate to contact us.
Endodontic treatment is necessary when the pulp, the soft tissue inside the root canal, becomes inflamed or infected. The inflammation or infection can have a variety of causes: deep decay repeated dental procedures on the tooth or a crack or chip in the tooth. In addition, an injury to a tooth may cause pulp damage even if the tooth has no visible chips or cracks. If left untreated, the infection in the tooth can spread to other parts of the body, and in some cases can even be life threatening. If you are in need of a root canal, the infected pulp in the tooth needs to be removed.
A root canal is one of the most common dental procedures performed, well over 14 million every year. This simple treatment can save your natural teeth and prevent the need of dental implants or bridges. At the center of your tooth is the tooth’s pulp. Pulp is a collection of blood vessels that helps to build the surrounding tooth. Infection of the pulp can be caused by trauma to the tooth, deep decay, cracks and chips, or repeated dental procedures. Symptoms of the infection can be identified as visible injury or swelling of the tooth, sensitivity to temperature or pain in the tooth and gums.
Root canal treatment is virtually painless and often leaves you with less discomfort during recovery than if you have your natural tooth extracted. Thanks to modern techniques and effective anesthesia, patients who experience root canals are six times more likely to describe it as painless than patients who have a tooth extracted! When you undergo a root canal or other endodontic treatment, the inflamed or infected pulp is removed and the inside of the tooth is carefully cleaned and disinfected, then filled and sealed with a rubber-like material called gutta-percha. Afterwards, the tooth is restored with a crown or filling for protection and will continue to function like any other tooth. Endodontic treatment helps you maintain your natural smile, continue eating the foods you love and limits the need for ongoing dental work. With proper care, most teeth that have had root canal treatment can last a lifetime.
An endodontist is a dentist who specializes in saving teeth. Endodontists become specialists by completing 5 years of dental school followed by an additional 3 years of advanced specialty training in the treatment of diseases of the dental pulp. They perform routine aw well as difficult and very complex procedures including root canal treatment, root canal retreatment and endodontic microsurgery. As a result of their specialty training, endodontists are skilled in finding the cause of oral and facial pain, treating traumatic dental injuries to teeth, diagnosing cracked teeth and performing other procedures that save teeth. Endodontists also are the experts in local anesthesia, ensuring patients are completely numb and comfortable during their procedures. There currently are less than 4,000 practicing endodontists in the U.S. and even fewer worldwide.
Your dentist may refer you to an endodontic specialist because of their concern for your tooth, your medical conditions, treatment preferences, pain tolerance, and/or the overall quality of your dental care. Your endodontist is a valuable parent on your general dentist's team of trusted caregivers and is no different than medical specialists who provide expert advice for heart, bone or other health problems. your dental team works together to relieve your pain, save your teeth and provide you with the optimal care that you deserve.
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. 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 endodontist’s instructions carefully. Your tooth may continue to feel slightly different from your other teeth for some time after your endodontic treatment is completed.
With proper care, you’ll keep teeth that have had root canal treatment for a lifetime but it’s possible for those teeth to heal improperly, becoming painful or diseased months or even years after treatment. If this happens to your treated teeth you have a second chance to save the tooth with retreatment. An additional procedure may be able to diminish dental pain or discomfort and promote healing.
As with any dental or medical procedure, it’s possible your tooth won’t heal as expected after initial treatment for a variety of reasons, including:
A new problem can also jeopardize a tooth that was successfully treated, such as:
It’s possible that a nonsurgical root canal procedure won’t be enough to save your tooth and that your endodontist will recommend surgery. Endodontic surgery can be used to locate small fractures or hidden canals previously undetected on X-rays during the initial treatment. Surgery may also be needed to remove calcium deposits in root canals, or to treat damaged root surfaces or the surrounding bone of the tooth. There’s no need to worry about surgery if your endodontist prescribes this additional measure. Advanced technologies like digital imaging and operating microscopes allow these procedures to be performed quickly, comfortably and successfully. There are many surgical procedures that can be performed to save a tooth. The most common is called an apicoectomy, or root-end resection, which may be needed when inflammation or infection persists in the bony area around the end of your tooth after a root canal procedure.Your endodontist performs this microsurgical procedure first making you comfortable by applying local anesthesia before opening the gum tissue near the tooth to see the underlying bone and to remove any inflamed or infected tissue. The very end of the root is also removed. A small filling may be placed to seal the end of the root canal and a few stitches or sutures are placed to help the tissue heal. In the next few months, the bone will heal around the end of the root. Most patients return to their normal activities the next day. Post-surgical discomfort is generally mild.
Though endodontic procedures are interned to help save your tooth, this is not always possible. Occasionally, the only alternative to endodontic treatment is extraction of the tooth. Missing teeth can make you self-conscious, affect your ability to bite and chew, cause other health teeth to shift and have a negative impact on your overall health. For these reasons, the extracted tooth should be replaced with an artificial one. For replacement of an extracted tooth, you may also consider a bridge or removable partial denture. These options require additional procedures on adjacent healthy teeth and should be discussed with your dentist.
Research has proven that endodontic treatment and dental implants are equally successful. Therefore, it makes sense to start by trying to save your natural tooth — nothing looks, feels or functions like it. If for whatever reason, healing does not occur, then treatment with a dental implant is an excellent backup plan. Ultimately, your treatment decision should be based on a strategy you have discussed with your dental team (your dentist, endodontist and/or other specialists), and that you agree is best for your overall health.
In our office we provide EXCLUSIVELY endodontic and microsurgery services. This is because during our training in the filed of Endodontics in the Netherlands we were inspired with the mentality of providing the best possible service to our patients and the Referral Dentists.
Our Mission is to provide you with the finest endodontic treatment available anywhere. Our “make no compromises” philosophy places our practice at the top of endodontic practices. Our office is one of the most technologically advanced office in the area with surgical operating microscopes as well as digital radiography and the all-tissue laser Er,Cr:YSGG. Our “quality first” emphasis has helped our referrals reach their practice potential.
Our office is known for our commitment to excellence. Our commitment to you is that you receive the best care that is possible today.
Here are just a few things that make our practice unique:
From the front office to the exam room, our practice is made up of professionals who take your oral health very seriously. Using state of the art equipment designed with safety and efficiency in mind, we are able to offer top-notch care. As you walk through our office, you will notice that everything is clean, comfortable and thoroughly sterilized. Your safety and comfort are our priority.
We know that your time is valuable to you, and that’s why we offer extended office hours on select days, dental appointment reminders, and a quick turnaround time on calls and appointment requests. We are happy to answer any questions or concerns in the office, over the phone or via email.
At our practice, we are qualified to handle all aspects of your care, so you are always surrounded by people that you trust. If we must refer out, we promise to send you to carefully vetted colleagues who apply the same professional principles in their office that we do in ours.
We respect and understand that many patients experience dental anxiety. At our office, we do everything we can to make sure that your experience is as enjoyable as possible. By communicating clearly what you can expect during your treatment, we are often able to alleviate dental fear. We encourage you to bring headphones and music to listen to during your treatment and ask us about dental sedation options.
At our practice, you aren’t just a patient. We take an interest in you and your oral health needs. We think you’ll find a friend in your dental professional during your visit!
