Successful Endodontic Treatment: Give Your Teeth the Care They Deserve

What Is Endodontic Treatment?

It comprises dental protocols for saving natural teeth by treating them from the inside out. Ideally, a dentist in Stockton will breach through the different layers of a diseased tooth to treat the inner layers. The goal is to rid the tooth of infection and damaged tissues that cause dental pain.

Endodontics in Stockton, CA, banks on the fact that a fully mature adult tooth can survive without the inner soft tissues. Therefore, even when the dentist removes a tooth’s soft tissues like blood vessels, nerve endings, and connective tissues, a tooth can remain functional and healthy for many years.

The most common type of endodontic treatment is a root canal. It entails drilling a tooth’s enamel to access the pulp cavity. It is the go-to approach for many endodontic treatments. However, sometimes a dentist may incorporate a different type of endodontic treatment called Apicoectomy. It is a surgery for a tooth’s root end, removing the infection from the roots of teeth. The endodontist will access the tooth root through the gum tissue.

Signs That You May Need Endodontic Treatment

It is not every day that a dentist recommends an endodontic procedure. At Morada Dental & Orthodontics, we perform endodontic treatments for patients experiencing any of the following signs:

1. Tooth sensitivity – features an increased sensitivity to hold or cold foods.
2. Cracked, chipped, or broken tooth – typically due to dental accidents or excessive teeth grinding.
3. Toothache
4. Numbness in your tooth – if you have been feeling pain in your tooth that suddenly disappears and turns into numbness, you need an endodontic procedure.
5. Abnormal discoloration on a tooth.
6. Abscessed tooth – you will notice a swelling on your gums at the base of your tooth. The swelling will have pus in it.
7. A tooth cavity – during the early stages of cavity development, an endodontist can repair and restore a tooth before the decay process completely damages the tooth structure.

How to Ensure Successful Endodontics Treatment

The success of endodontic treatment depends on the expertise of the endodontist performing your procedure. Some of the factors that influence the success of endodontic dentistry are:

1. Local anesthesia – to numb your mouth, making the treatment painless.
2. Sedation dentistry – helps calm your nerves, promoting relaxation and heightening comfort. Sedation dentistry increases a dentist’s precision when performing a root canal procedure.
3. Medication – Endodontists use irrigants that disinfect, killing any traces of bacteria lingering in your pulp cavity after the cleaning process during the root canal treatment.
4. Dental fillings – a dentist should fill and seal the tooth with a dental filling material of choice after the endodontic procedure. You can get composites, amalgams, or porcelain fillings to fill the tooth.
5. Crowning – although it is not mandatory, many dentists prefer to cover a tooth with a dental crown after an endodontic procedure. The crown will reinforce the tooth’s strength while holding the tooth filling in place.

Further, you must be careful to care for your teeth properly after your procedure. A dentist can only do so much to restore your tooth. Your dental care measures after that will determine the success of your treatment. Some of the things you can do to optimize the success of your procedure are:

1. Eat healthily – cut down on sugary foods that can cause re-infection.
2. Maintain excellent oral hygiene – other than brushing and flossing at home, consider regular dental cleanings near you.
3. Avoid hard foods that may dislodge your dental filling or dental crown.

What are the Benefits of Successful Endodontic Treatment?

A successful endodontic procedure presents many advantages to your oral health, including:

1. Restoring optimal functionality to your teeth
2. Treat dental pain permanently – instead of suppressing it with over-the-counter medication.
3. Improving the appearance of a tooth – if you receive a dental crown over the treated tooth, it will match the shape and sizes of the rest of your natural teeth. Besides, a dental crown is tooth-colored, closely mimicking the color of natural teeth.
4. A solution for many years – after a successful root canal, you may not need retreatment for the next 10 years or more. However, it depends on how well you care for your teeth after endodontic treatment.