Endodontics

Endodontics basically means "within the tooth". Doing "endo" on a tooth means taking out the pulp of the tooth which happens to contain the nerve. It never ceases to amaze me how such a tiny nerve can cause such pain! Doing "endo" is the same as doing a "root canal".

The first step after numbing the tooth is to make an opening through the crown part of the tooth into the pulp chamber. These are fairly large in young people and get progressively calcified as we age. After cleaning out the chamber your dentist will look for the opening to each canal. Front teeth usually have only one canal. Molars almost always have three canals and sometimes four because they have more roots.

Once the canals are found they are measured for length and cleaned and shaped so they can be filled with a material called gutta percha, which is a soft rubbery material. If you have a root canal started but do not go back to get the canals filled the tooth can get reinfected because body fluids can leak back into the unfilled canals.

• Hello, A few years ago I had a root canal done on a molar, during the procedure a piece of some tool (?) guessing used in the actual c...
  
  
• had root canal done but also on the same tooth in between it is a whole wich is a decay why wasn't it filled.
  
  
• Hello, I have a lower left molar(third up from wisdom tooth)that had a root canal and temp crown placed about ten years ago. The te...
  
  
• my husband just had a root canal done yesterday. and that side of his whole face is swollen huge, will not go down and he is in severe...
  
  
• hi im 25 year old and need 6 root canal in my six front upper teeth i went too a dentidt he was chargin me 9000 for six root canal how ...
  
  

Hello, A few years ago I had a root canal done on a molar, during the procedure a piece of some tool (?) guessing used in the actual canal broke off into my gum, my dentist was straight forward about this, and seemed to think I would have no further issues. Well for the last week I have been in great pain, uninsured, I went to the community hospitals dentist, I assumed I had an abscess. ( I have had this terrible taste in my mouth as well). When he poked around to try and find the source of the pain realized, none of my teeth were causing the excruciating pain but my gums were. I assumed it was the tooth next to the crowned one from the root canal (the whole area is sore) but the pain is in the gum over the crown. My question is do you think if I call the initial dentist back, and politely tell him of the situation, will he be willing to remedy it? I am afraid of the community dentist pulling the crown and not replacing it etc, since it's aesthetics and not sure if the discount would apply to replacing it (doubt it). Are dentists normally willing to remedy mistakes, I am not angry, I just want it fixed and to have a tooth there.
If your original dentist broke an instrument off "into your gum" he would have retrieved it. It wouldn't be difficult to do this. I think he broke the instrument in the canal of the tooth. If this is close to the end of the root it is just about impossible to retrieve and can actually act as a decent type of filling material for the canal. The pain in your gum may be related to this--or not. An xray will help. If it shows a darkening over the root that contains the broken instrument this may be the cause. It could also be strictly a gum problem. Do you floss really well around your crown? If not, then start. As far as remedying mistakes this one has a history of 2 years, but I believe it wouldn't hurt to ask the original dentist his opinion. If you lose the tooth he may replace it with a bridge at a reduced fee.

had root canal done but also on the same tooth in between it is a whole wich is a decay why wasn't it filled.
It should be. Go back to your dentist and have it filled. If you are planning to have a crown placed on the tooth then it will be taken of then and there would be no need to do it now. If not then it has to be taken care of.

Hello, I have a lower left molar(third up from wisdom tooth)that had a root canal and temp crown placed about ten years ago. The temp crown of course fell off quickly, so this root canal has been exposed for that long, getting infected at least twice per year. I went to the clinic and they referred me to an endodontist for a retreat and crown, but advised me that I may still lose the tooth. I was quoted around 2300 for a root canal and crown, and 3000 for an implant and crown. Since it has been ten years, I'm afraid to spend the money on a retreat that has a high chance of failure, figuring it may be worth the additional $700 for a more permanent solution. Please help, I could use some advice. Thanks! -Mandolin
Tough one. How about taking a shot at the retreat and waiting a few months before placing a crown? If this was a premolar I would be more comfortable telling you this because a lower premolar generally has only one canal. With a molar you have 3 and sometimes 4 canals. I also have to tell you that an implant is not a slam dunk. They have a 3-5% failure rate due to the immune system having a foreign body reaction. If the endodontist can give you a 75% chance of success I would still go with this. These guys (and gals) are very good.

my husband just had a root canal done yesterday. and that side of his whole face is swollen huge, will not go down and he is in severe pain it is not letting up. he is on antibiotics, and hydrocoden. what do you think is wrong or what schould we do.
He may need to get the tooth drained. This can be done either internally by removing the temporary filling or externally by making an incision. Call the dentist who did the root canal and make an appointment. Cold compresses can help but it's the infection that needs to be treated.

hi im 25 year old and need 6 root canal in my six front upper teeth i went too a dentidt he was chargin me 9000 for six root canal how much would you charge me and how long would it take the procedure
I charge $775 per anterior root canal because they are the easiest to do. They generally only have one canal and are easy to access. I have to tell you though that you are going to need more than just root canal treatment. If your teeth are that decayed you are probably looking at posts and build-ups and possibly crowns. What I end up doing with most of these cases is giving the patient a final cost that is lower than the sum of the parts. If you are near me my office phone is 609-398-8866. I am located in Ocean City, NJ. As far as time goes it depends on whether you have active infections in the teeth, whether swelling is present, pain, etc. You may need to go on an antibiotic and have selected teeth drained. I don't take any more than 2 visits for root canals.