Endodontics

Who is an Endodontist

An endodontist specializes in emergency tooth repair and root canal therapy. These dentists are experts on the soft masses contained inside every tooth--the nerve structure, blood vessels and other such fragile material which requires a special touch and extensive continuous education. An endodontist will treat tooth damages and infections, as well as conduct root canal treatment and other such surgical procedures. Regular dentists do often perform endodontic procedures with proper training, but specialists are authorized by regulators to complete more complex surgeries. If the tooth pulp and the tissues surrounding the root of a tooth has been injured or deceased, an endodontic treatment is highly recommended.

Other procedures practiced in endodontics include:

• Incision for drainage.

• Internal tooth bleaching to fix teeth that have blackened because of infiltration of decayed soft tissue into the dentin in the teeth . most often seen in incisors that have been injured through a sudden impact.

• Periradicular surgery (apicoectomy) . surgical removal of the infection from the bone or a reversed root canal.

Identification of a good endodontist

An endodontist has completed dental school along with an additional two years of specialty training, primarily in learning how to best perform root canals and re-treatments. Generally a good dental guide will have a top endodontics in your area. Looking for a board certified endodontist is a good initial starting point. You may also search on the web for sites such as www.top3dentists.com that have done extensive research on each dentist that is listed on their site.

Myth about root canal

• Unlike what most people think, root canal therapy is not removal of the root of the tooth . it is placing a filling precisely and gently in the root.

• Another myth is the amount of pain associated with root canals. The truth is: root canals are rarely painful. The only time they do become painful is when there is massive destruction to the tooth, massive infection has formed, bone is damaged, or there is swelling. If treated early on, root canals are rarely painful and very easy procedures.

Considerations for Endodontics

When you have a choice between seeing a regular dentist and a specialist for a root canal, it's typically the better decision to go to the endodontist who have required training and a credential report of the doctor has been done. Specialists charge more for their services, but they have gone through additional training in preventing infections, conducting complex tooth surgeries and avoiding damage to the sensitive nerve tissue contained within every tooth. Protect your long term dental health.

What is Pedodontics?

Pedodontics or pediatric dentistry is the branch of dentistry which specializes in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of teeth in infants and children who are under the age of 16. The Dentists who specializes in dentistry for children is known as Pedodontist and they receive an extensive two to three years of training in child psycology, growth and development which make them certified pedodontist. They work towards the maintainence of baby teeth (milk teeth) untill they are naturally lost. They also provide a guidance in context to good and healthy nutritious diet which plays a vital role in eating habits and ways to prevent cavities from occuring. Finding a pedondontics for your infant should start at age of zero

Pedodontics says that negligence in oral health care in children leads to tooth decay which results in decrease school performance and social relationships. Hence Oral care should begin soon after the child's birth as there is nothing more beautiful than a child's smile. This beautiful smile needs a proper care and attention. Taking care of the teeth from starting makes a child having cavity free set of teeth.

Pedodontic Dentistry may include some or all of the following:-

Child dietry consultation

Routine dental check up

Dental education and behavioural management

Fluoride application treatment

Cleaning and polishing teeth

Restorations and tooth colour filling of deciduous tooth

Sealant of the permanent teeth

Space maintainer

Root canal treatment

Hence a pedodontist care for children's oral health from birth through adolescence.

What is Oral Surgery?

Oral Surgery is the specialty of dentistry that deals with surgery on teeth, jaws and soft tissues. It is also

known as maxillofacial surgery which is connected to surgery on the structures of face, sinuses and neck.

The surgery is commonly performed to repair jaw problems, prepare the mouth for dentures, to remove wisdom teeth, perform root canal, tmj disorders ,tooth extractions. However it is also performed with more advanced procedures in case of trauma or severe disease damages the structure of the mouth.

The specialists dealing with oral surgery are known as oral maxillofacial surgeons or simply oral surgeons and they receive a special surgical training which make them certified OMS surgeons.They perform wide variety of procedures ranging from simple wisdom tooth surgery to complicated surgeries like orthognathic surgery. They are well equipped to handle a variety of issues in the face, oral cavity and head.

Oral Maxillofacial surgery includes a wide range of surgery and procedures in the mouth and the region surrounding it.

In one of the cases oral surgeons treated an 18 year old suffering from multitude of jaw and bone issues, such as impacted wisdom teeth, deviated septum causing airway obstruction and mouth breathing, and there was a cyst formation in the jaw.

What is Orthodontics?

Orthodontics is a special branch of dentistry which deals with aligning the teeth and jaws that are positioned improperly to improve person's smile and oral health. Teeth that are improperly positioned or a crooked tooth are difficult to keep clean and are at higher risk of being lost early due to tooth decay and periodontal disease. Through orthodontic treatment problems of crooked teeth, overbites, underbites, jaw joints disorders are corrected which gives a more pleasing appearance and a healthier mouth. The specialist in this field is known as Orthodontist.

Any of the following conditions may require an orthodontic treatment-
Overbite
Underbite
Crossbite
Openbite
Mislpaced midline of front teeth
Spacing between teeth
Crowding of teeth

Based on person's medical and dental health history, a clinical exam, plaster models of teeth and special x-rays and photographs, an orthodontist can decide whether orthodontic treatment is required or not and they develop a treatment plan accordingly for you.

Dental implant
Intervention
A Straumann-brand root-form endosseous dental implant placed in the site of the maxillary left permanent first molar with bone graft used to elevate the sinus floor

A dental implant is a "root" device, usually made of titanium, used in dentistry to support restorations that resemble a tooth or group of teeth to replace missing teeth.

Virtually all dental implants placed today are root-form endosseous implants, i.e., they appear similar to an actual tooth root (and thus possess a "root-form") and are placed within the bone (endo- being the Greek prefix for "in" and osseous referring to "bone"). The bone of the jaw accepts and osseointegrates with the titanium post. Osseointegration refers to the fusion of the implant surface with the surrounding bone. Dental implants will fuse with bone; however, they lack the periodontal ligament, so they will feel slightly different from natural teeth during chewing.

Prior to the advent of root-form endosseous implants, most implants were either blade endosseous implants, in that the shape of the metal piece placed within the bone resembled a flat blade, or subperiosteal implants, in which a framework was constructed to lie upon and was attached with screws to the exposed bone of the jaws.

Dental implants can be used to support a number of dental prostheses, including crowns, implant-supported bridges or dentures.^[1] They can also be used as anchorage for orthodontic tooth movement. The use of dental implants permits undirectional tooth movement without reciprocal action.

Crown (dentistry)
Interventio

A porcelain-fused-to-metal crown for tooth #29 on its stone model. It is now ready to be cemented into the patient's mouth. The prosthetic crown does not extend distally to tooth #31 (molar to the left in photo) because the span is too large, as tooth #30 is missing. This edentulous area, together with a much larger one across the arch in the area of teeth #18-21, will be restored with a removable partial denture.

The stone model die for the same PFM crown on tooth #29. Notice how much tooth structure has been removed in order to facilitate placement of a crown. The original dimensions of the tooth approach if not duplicate the contours of the restoration in the photo above. The silvery paint on the stone die of tooth #29 is a die spacer, placed to allow for a minute amount of space between the tooth structure and the internal surface of the crown, which will later fill with cement upon final insertion of the crown into the mouth.

A crown is a type of dental restoration which completely caps or encircles a tooth or dental implant. Crowns are often needed when a large cavity threatens the ongoing health of a tooth.^[1] They are typically bonded to the tooth using a dental cement. Crowns can be made from many materials, which are usually fabricated using indirect methods. Crowns are often used to improve the strength or appearance of teeth. While inarguably beneficial to dental health, the procedure and materials can be relatively expensive.^[2]

The most common method of crowning a tooth involves using a dental impression of a prepared tooth by a dentist to fabricate the crown outside of the mouth. The crown can then be inserted at a subsequent dental appointment. Using this indirect method of tooth restoration allows use of strong restorative materials requiring time consuming fabrication methods requiring intense heat, such as casting metal or firing porcelain which would not be possible to complete inside the mouth. Because of the expansion properties, the relatively similar material costs, and the aesthetic benefits, many patients choose to have their crown fabricated with gold.

As new technology and materials science has evolved, computers are increasingly becoming a part of crown and bridge fabrication, such as in CAD/CAM Dentistry.

Bridge (dentistry)

Bridge (dentistry)

A three unit porcelain fused to metal bridge (PFM) made by a dental technician.

A semi-precision attachment between teeth #3 and #4, with the female on #4. Note the lingual buttons extending, in the photo, upward on #2 (on the left) and downward on #4. These are used to grasp the crowns with a hemostat and make them easier to handle. They can also be used to aid in removal of the crown in case there is an excessive amount of retention during the try-in. They are cut off prior to final cementation.

The proximal surfaces of the pre-solder index abutment and pontic, showing lab-processed grooves for added retention of the GC pattern resin.

The abument and pontic joined with GC pattern resin in a solder index and reinforced with an old bur (lying horizontally across the occlusal surface of the copings).

A bridge, also known as a fixed partial denture, is a dental restoration used to replace a missing tooth by joining permanently to adjacent teeth or dental implants.

Types of bridges may vary, depending upon how they are fabricated and the way they anchor to the adjacent teeth. Conventionally, bridges are made using the indirect method of restoration. However, bridges can be fabricated directly in the mouth using such materials as composite resin.

A bridge is fabricated by reducing the teeth on either side of the missing tooth or teeth by a preparation pattern determined by the location of the teeth and by the material from which the bridge is fabricated. In other words, the abutment teeth are reduced in size to accommodate the material to be used to restore the size and shape of the original teeth in a correct alignment and contact with the opposing teeth. The dimensions of the bridge are defined by Ante's Law: "The root surface area of the abutment teeth has to equal or surpass that of the teeth being replaced with pontics".^[1]

The materials used for the bridges include gold, porcelain fused to metal, or in the correct situation porcelain alone. The amount and type of reduction done to the abutment teeth varies slightly with the different materials used. The recipient of such a bridge must be careful to clean well under this prosthesis.

When restoring an edentulous space with a fixed partial denture that will crown the teeth adjacent to the space and bridge the gap with a pontic, or "dummy tooth", the restoration is referred to as a bridge. Besides all of the preceding information that concerns single-unit crowns, bridges possess a few additional considerations when it comes to case selection and treatment planning, tooth preparation and restoration fabrication.

Who is an Endodontist​