Areas of Expertise
Endodontics
Treatment consists in the removal of the dental pulp, a living structure, which contains among other things, nerves and blood vessels, and its replacement with a restorative material.
In general terms, endodontic treatment is indicated for the following situations:
Living teeth - when the vital pulp is inflamed and presents spontaneous pain (pulpitis) due to deep exposure of the dentin by caries, fracture of the crown, receding gums, etc. In some cases, endodontic treatment is recommended because of a prosthetic indication (eg, as a result of excessive grinding of dental structure, tooth inclination etc.
Dead teeth - when the pulp loses its vitality (necrotic pulp) and compromises the structure surrounding the root, causing inflammation of the periodontal membrane and bone asymptomatically (granulomas and cysts).
In some situations it is necessary to perform endodontic treatment again, when the previous treatment was not entirely successful for some reason (anatomical difficulties, roots with sharp bends, calcified canals, etc.) or when a tooth was not properly restored resulting in a possible recontamination of the canal due to bacteria present in saliva.
Today, with modern techniques and tools, root canal treatment is done mostly in one single consultation. Specific cases (presence of pus, persistent bleeding, rework, etc.) may require more sessions.
Endodontics is the specialty that studies and treats diseases of the dental pulp, of the entire root canal system and of periapical tissues.
