When many people are told they need to see an endodontics specialist for root canal therapy, they imagine the worst. Root canals are associated with dental pain and the specialists who perform them are often feared. However, endodontists, the specialists who perform root canals, are not the bad guys or gals. They are the specialists that can put a stop to severe pain caused by infected or diseased teeth and save your smile.
What Is Endodontics?
Within the dental medical field, there are several specialties that require additional training and education, including the field of endodontics. Dentists that specialize in endodontics are experts at repairing the inner portions of the tooth. When infection, decay, disease, or trauma reach the inner canals of the tooth, it can jeopardize the health of the tooth. Endodontists perform treatments like root canal therapy that can repair the tooth and often save the tooth from extraction.
Why Does Endodontics Have a Bad Reputation?
Root canals are one of the most common procedures performed by endodontics specialists. When a root canal is needed, often the person is experiencing severe toothaches or other pain. Abscesses, infections, or trauma that affect the inner canals of a tooth can put pressure on the nerves, causing pain.
Endodontic treatments like root canals require entering the inner canals of the tooth. In the past, this could take several visits for a specialist to perform. Multiple visits before the issue were resolved could be uncomfortable for the patient. However, endodontic treatments like root canal therapy have evolved and the discomfort level for patients is minimal. The bad reputation that treatments like root canal therapy have is based on outdated procedures that are no longer used.
New techniques, advanced technology, and improved methods make endodontic treatments like other dental repairs when it comes to discomfort. Root canals can now usually be performed in one visit, with the same discomfort level of having a cavity removed and filled. While the tooth may be tender after the procedure, the infection or damage that was causing the severe pain is fixed, giving relief, not pain, for the patient.
Benefits of Endodontics
In many cases, a severely damaged or infected tooth would need to be removed without endodontics. This specialized care can save a tooth and your smile. Losing a tooth for any reason can change the appearance of your smile and cause many other oral health issues. Endodontists are the good guys; they help stop the pain of a diseased or damaged tooth while restoring it to health to protect your smile.
At Pearland Family Dentistry, we offer endodontics like root canal therapy to ensure the health of our patients’ smiles. We provide a comfortable, friendly atmosphere for your family to get the care they need to protect their smiles. Our team provides general, cosmetic and restorative dental care at our office in Houston, TX. When you need relief from a painful toothache or just need preventive care, give us a call.