It is our goal to keep your mouth healthy, your teeth fully functional, and your smile bright — and we are proud of all the services we offer to do exactly that. At the same time, we want you to understand all that modern dentistry in general has to offer you. To that end, we have assembled a first-rate dental library in which you can find a wealth of information on various dental topics, including:
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
From a thorough professional cleaning to a full smile makeover, there is an amazing array of services that cosmetic and general dentists offer to make sure your teeth stay healthy, function well and look great. If your smile is not all you want it to be, this is the place to start. Read more about Cosmetic & General Dentistry.
Emergency Dental Care
When you have a dental emergency — whether it's caused by a sudden accident or chronic disease — your teeth and/or the tissues of the mouth that surround them need to receive proper care right away. It's also important to be aware, before you're actually in the situation, of what you can do to ensure the best outcome. Read more about Emergency Dental Care.
Endodontics
This is the branch of dentistry that focuses on the inside of the tooth — specifically the root canals and sensitive, inner pulp (nerve) tissue. When this tissue becomes inflamed or infected, a root canal procedure may become necessary. But contrary to the popular myth, a root canal doesn't cause pain, it relives it. Read more about Endodontics.
Implant Dentistry
If you are missing one or more teeth, dental implants offer the comfort and security of a permanent replacement that looks and functions just like your natural teeth. Dental implants also help preserve the tooth-supporting bone in your jaw that naturally deteriorates when even one tooth is lost. Read more about Implant Dentistry.
Oral Health
Oral health is an essential component of general health and well-being. Good oral health means a mouth that's free of disease; a bite that functions well enough for you to eat without pain and get ample nutrition; and a smile that lets you express your happiest emotions with confidence. Read more about Oral Health.
Oral Hygiene
A major goal of modern dentistry is to help you keep your teeth and gums healthy for a lifetime. By following a conscientious program of oral hygiene at home, and coming to the dental office for routine cleanings and exams, you have the best chance of making this goal a reality. Read more about Oral Hygiene.
Oral Surgery
The word “surgery” often brings to mind a stay in the hospital, general anesthesia, and perhaps a lengthy recovery period. However, the experience of having oral surgery is usually very different from that. Some common oral surgery procedures include: tooth extractions, dental implant placement, and biopsies of suspicious oral lesions. Read more about Oral Surgery.
Orthodontics
Adults and kids alike can benefit from the boost in self-confidence that comes from having a great-looking smile with beautifully aligned teeth. Orthodontic treatment can even improve chewing, speaking and oral hygiene in certain cases. And with today's virtually invisible orthodontic appliances, it's possible to keep your treatment a private matter… until your new smile is unveiled, of course! Read more about Orthodontics.
Pediatric Dentistry
It's never too early to get your child started on the path toward a lifetime of good oral health, and there are many services to do exactly that. Monitoring your child's dental growth and development, and preventing and intercepting dental diseases along the way, is the primary focus of pediatric dentistry. Read more about Pediatric Dentistry.
Periodontal Therapy
If you want to keep your teeth for life — a completely reasonable goal in this day and age — you need to make sure the tissues that surround them are also healthy. Should gum problems arise, you may need periodontal therapy to restore diseased tissues to health. Read more about Periodontal Therapy.
Technology
In the field of dentistry, new technology is constantly changing the way diseases are diagnosed, routine procedures are performed, and illnesses are prevented. Although they may seem unfamiliar at first, new and improved dental technologies offer plenty of real benefits for patients. Read more about Technology.
Most of the time, root canal therapy is effective at permanently relieving tooth pain and halting infection of the soft tissues deep inside the teeth and gums. But occasionally, as in any medical procedure, the body may not heal as we expect it to. After a period of time, you may experience pain in the affected tooth again — or, even if you have no symptoms, x-rays may reveal that infection is still present near the tooth's roots. In that case, you may need root canal retreatment.
There are several reasons why your root canal treatment may not have succeeded at first. The “canals” themselves are slender, forking passageways deep inside the tooth that enclose nerves and blood vessels: the tooth's soft “pulp.” They can be so narrow and intricate that some may have gone undetected, or failed to respond to treatment the first time. Or, the canals might have become recontaminated via a number of routes: a delayed or ineffective crown restoration, new tooth decay, advancing gum disease, or a cracked or fractured tooth. Any of these conditions could result in reinfection.
If initial root canal (endodontic) therapy has failed, the first thing to do is evaluate your options. Besides retreatment, the alternatives may include endodontic surgery or extraction (removal) of the tooth. However, a missing tooth should be replaced by a dental implant, a bridge or a partial denture as soon as possible — and none of these are simple or inexpensive options. That's part of the reason we prefer to help you retain your natural teeth whenever possible.
The Retreatment Procedure
If endodontic retreatment is appropriate for you, the procedure is similar to a routine root canal, with a few added measures. After you are anesthetized (usually with a numbing shot), any restorations presently on your tooth — crowns, for example — will be altered to provide access to the root canal filling material. This is usually accomplished by making a small opening into the inner part of the tooth, removing filling material or obstructions, and cleaning the pulp chambers with tiny instruments.
A microscope and light are used to search carefully for additional canals or unusual structures. If the treatment process becomes extremely complex, it may be finished in a subsequent visit. Finally, when all the canals have been cleaned and disinfected, they will be filled with inert material and sealed. Then a temporary filling will be placed in the tooth. A permanent restoration will need to be placed at a later time.
Is Root Canal Retreatment My Best Option?
Medicine and dentistry are as much art as science, and neither one can guarantee that any procedure will be 100% successful. While endodontic retreatment can be more complex than initial root canal therapy, it offers a good chance of success in many instances. And, since the field of endodontics is constantly evolving, it may be possible to use new techniques that weren't available when your first root canal procedure was done.
Dentists take seriously our responsibility to help you understand the risks, benefits and alternatives for treating root canal problems. When we recommend retreatment, it's because we feel it is the best way for you to preserve your natural teeth — and we want you to be able to enjoy them for many years to come.
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Root Canal Retreatment As occasionally happens with any dental or medical procedure, a tooth may not heal as anticipated after a root canal treatment. In these cases, it's often possible to save the tooth with a second root canal procedure... Read Article