When a person is faced with a serious tooth problem, the first choice of dental professionals should always be to save the natural tooth if at all possible instead of extracting it. When the pulp of the tooth becomes infected, the infection can have a variety of causes: deep decay, repeated dental procedures causing simple trauma or microfractures present. An untreated infected pulp can cause pain and lead to an abscess. Endodontic therapy offers a variety of choices for patients facing this type of problem and avoiding a tooth extraction by performing integrative techniques that have a good chance of saving the tooth and keeping it as healthy as possible. An informed professional endodontist offering the right combination of choices can mean a healthy, viable, natural tooth.
Dr. Golden of Golden Dental states, “one viable endodontic therapy is the use of a Zeiss® microscope to determine if the tooth has a fracture so that a more definitive diagnosis can be perform, supporting the endodontist in determining if additional canals are present, which is sometimes overlooked in standard of care root canal procedure. Another option is a thorough disinfection using ozone therapy lavage and therapeutic follow-up”. Endodontists and their patients can also choose to go with biolase laser therapy with biolase technology. This process provides additional disinfection and removal of any residual tissues that may lead to future failure of root canal therapy.
Another viable option for patients with tooth infections is a DNA test called Dental DNA to check the viability of the procedure or the stability of old root canals. “This procedure and the biolase laser therapy are critical in killing all germs that may be lingering in the tubules of the roots of a tooth that is integrated in the jaw, as well as allowing endodontists to see if the body’s immune system is working well enough to sustain a root canal procedure” insists Dr. Golden. In addition, endodontists can perform a Cone Beam Volumetric Tomography (CBVT), which allows them to find fractures, additional canals and pathology that may impact the viability of a procedure.
Source: Linda J. Golden, D.D.S., and Danielle S. Jaffe, D.D.S. Location: 444 Community Dr., Ste. 204, Manhasset. For additional information, call 516-627-8400, email GoldenDental@ optonline.net or visit GoldenSmile.com
