I was eight years old having an ice skating lesson when all of a sudden, my mother’s worst nightmare came true—her child was flying through the air, landed face-down, and resurfaced toothless. As a second-grader, my main thought was how ridiculous I was going to look with a missing front tooth, but my mother was more concerned about what to do with the tooth fragment she was now holding. Thankfully she rushed me to the dentist and my tooth was able to be saved. But if you were in that situation—or worse, if your own tooth got knocked out—would you […]
How to Save a Damaged Tooth
Endodontic Technology: Dental Operating Microscope
Endodontic Technology: Dental Operating Microscope
Have you ever laid down to have a dental procedure and wondered what, exactly, were all those tools hovering over your head? Besides the bright light to help your endodontist see more clearly, the other piece of equipment you’re looking at is probably a dental operating microscope. Before operating microscopes, it was common for dentists and surgeons to wear loupes, which are glasses with lenses attached. These were originally created by jewelers and watchmakers to see small objects, and while they are certainly an improvement to the naked eye, they are not as powerful or effective as […]
Dentist, Endodontist, and Other Specialists: What's the Difference?
Dentist, Endodontist, and Other Specialists: What’s the Difference?
We’ve all been there before—you chip a tooth or a filling falls out and you don’t know who to call. Is it something that your dentist can address, or do you need to see a specialist? There are many kinds of dental specialists—all have training beyond dental school and focus their practice on different areas, but figuring out which type of specialist you need doesn’t have to be confusing. General Dentist General dentists, also known as family dentists, are the most common type of dental professional. They mainly focus on preventative oral care. Pediatric dentists are a specialization within […]
How to Fix a Cracked Tooth
How to Fix a Cracked Tooth
You bite into a piping hot piece of pizza or go to munch on an ice cube and POW!—you’re hit with a sharp pain in your tooth. This is just one of several cracked tooth symptoms, and a sure sign that it’s time to book an appointment at your endodontist. But what is cracked tooth syndrome and how do you fix it? Is a cracked tooth the same as a chipped tooth? Cracked Tooth Symptoms No matter what kind of cracked tooth you have or which tooth is afflicted, your symptoms will be pretty similar. The biggest indication is extreme […]
When Do You Need a Root Canal?
When Do You Need a Root Canal?
Root canals inspire fear in the hearts of unsuspecting dental patients, but even that little factoid is relatively outdated—today a root canal is often no more painful than a filling. So what is a root canal? And when do you need a root canal, anyway? We’ll answer these questions and more so if you ever need to schedule one, you can do so without fear. Let’s start with the basics: What’s a Root Canal? A root canal is a procedure to remove the inner nerve tissue or “pulp” of an infected tooth. Once the pulp is extracted, the inner area […]
CALCIFIED CASES....ARE THEY ALL UNTREATABLE?
CALCIFIED CASES….ARE THEY ALL UNTREATABLE?
CALCIFIED CASES….ARE THEY ALL UNTREATABLE? The short answer….No. There is a common misperception that when we see cases as the one displayed below, they are near impossible to treat. The tertiary dentin is inherently different in character as it is an accelerated reactive process. Here is an example of an ideally treated case through a conservative access opening of a ceramic crown. […]
IS THIS "REGENERATION"?
IS THIS “REGENERATION”?
IS THIS “REGENERATION”? Here is an interesting case of a 7yo healthy female who had a history of sustained odontogenic trauma from an incident on the playground. At the time of presentation, the patient had buccal swelling of #9, signs of arrested development of the tooth, Grade III mobility and incisal edges of both maxillary centrals with several millimeters of discrepency. Several factors impacted our treatment decision, age being most significant. We decided to disinfect the tooth first and attempt regeneration to see if we couldn’t get the tooth to continue to develop. At 1 year post treatment the patient […]
HOPELESS PROGNOSIS?
HOPELESS PROGNOSIS?
HOPELESS PROGNOSIS?: Based on the pre-operative PA, many dentists would suggest to their patients that this tooth has a poor or hopeless prognosis. Clinically it had a 12 mm probing to the apex and radiographically it has a large apical lesion that was confirmed to extend around the entire MB root on CBCT. Even more concerning was that the lesion was not well centered around the root apex and was localized around the lateral root surface. Frequently patients like this are told “This tooth is fractured, it has to come out” without even attempting endodontic treatment. This case presents a great […]
3 reasons why we have teeth
3 reasons why we have teeth
3 reasons why we have teeth: 1) Esthetics 2) Function: allows you to speak and eat 3) Stability: keeps other teeth from moving around. Bottom line? When you can’t save the tooth…replace it… […]
INTENTIONAL REPLANTATION
INTENTIONAL REPLANTATION
INTENTIONAL REPLANTATION: This is a great example of how a treatment approach that is not ‘in vogue’ in the implant era can still have a fantastic outcome. Root canal therapy was completed by this patient’s restorative dentist and the mesial root was not able to be negotiated due to moderate curvature. CBCT shows that the canals had been transported and ledged to the buccal and lingual but the patient wished to attempt retreatment. Unfortunately, the ledge/transportation could not be corrected during retreatment. In preparing this patient for a possible implant, intentional replantation was discussed as an alternative if we could […]
