Endodontics hails its etymology from the Greek root words "endo", which means inside, and "odont", which means tooth. As defined in dictionaries, endodontics is the study and treatment of your dental pulp. This practice is recognized in international organizations such as the American Dental Association, British General Dental Council, Royal College of Dentists of Canada, Indian Dental Association, and Royal Australian College of Dental Surgeons.
If you have an injured or diseased dental pulp, you are required to undergo endodontic treatment. Among the endodontic therapies, root canal therapy is the most common. It also concerns a variety of dental problems, such as dental trauma, surgery, cracked teeth, and endodontic retreatment.
Endodontics is also related to pre-radicular tissues. Aside from physiology, endodontists also study the biology of the root crown, dental pulp, and the root itself.
When a patient undergoes endodontic treatment, the tooth is opened, and the dental pulp is removed. The tooth is then cleaned, shaped, filled and sealed. It still depends on the damage, but the patient must be given medicine or anesthesia before the operation begins.
More often than not, ninety percent of these operations are successful. It is better to risk your dental pulp in an operation because if you leave it untreated, this could cause infection, and could affect the rest of your teeth.
One instance of a traumatic injury in the teeth is when a child's permanent tooth, that is not fully developed, becomes a reason for the root to stop growing. The situation requires a procedure called apexification to encourage continue development in the root, and enable eventual closing of the tip of the tooth root. This procedure cab save a child's tooth.
On the other hand, if your tooth is dark, you should consult with an endodontist about getting a root canal in Annapolis, MD. A dark tooth indicates that there is a dead nerve that caused this gray color. Discoloration is also caused by other treatments such as dental fillings. Endodontists suggest that you should have your teeth bleached if there is discoloration.
Endodontics may take more than one visit to the dentist. Usually a patient requires three to four appointments. Endodontists are professionals, and experts in the field, who handle each case with care. Two to three dentists that specialize in endodontics may attend a surgery.
If the patient still feels pain, or finds that the infection has not stopped, they would need to continue their therapy. There are cases when a tooth remains diseased, even after months of operation. When this happens, the patient could undergo a second surgery or treatment, which is more complicated than the first treatment. Given the situation, this must be handled by an endodontist who has had advanced experience in the field.