Dr. Russell invites you to visit the American Association of Endodontists website, www.aae.org and click on the link Patients.

This link will provide you with commonly asked questiosn and also videos.

Endodontists are dentists who specialize in maintaining teeth through endodontic therapy procedures, involving the soft inner tissue of the teeth, called the pulp.  The word "endodontic" comes from "endo" meaning inside and "odont" meaning tooth.  Like many medical terms, it's Greek.  All dentists are trained in diagnosis and endodontic therapy, however, some teeth can be especially difficult to diagnose and treat.  That’s why you may have been referred to an endodontic specialist.

In addition to dental school, endodontists receive two or more years of advanced education in this kind of treatment. They study root canal techniques and procedures in greater depth, for diagnosis and treatment of more difficult cases. For this reason, many dentists choose to refer their patients to endodontists.

A local anesthetic will be given.  An elastic sheet called the "dental dam" will be placed around the tooth to isolate it, keeping it clean, dry, and sterile during treatment.  The treatment consists of a few basic steps, but the number of visits will depend on your particular case.  Some treatments may take 2 visits, but many are just a single visit.  Occasionally, 3 appointments may be needed.

In any case, it depends on the degree of infection/inflammation and the degree of difficulty the tooth presents with. In this office, it's more important to do it the very best we can than to meet a specific time criterion.  

There are, of course, no guarantees.  A root canal or endodontic therapy has a very high degree of success, up to 96% for teeth that can be treated near ideal. We will discuss with you the chances of success before any endodontic procedure to help you make an informed decision.  If a root canal or endodontic therapy is unsuccessful, you still have options.

Oral pain such as toothaches or cracked / fractured teeth can often be difficult to pinpoint.  Because of the vast network of nerves in the mouth, the pain of a damaged or diseased tooth often is felt in another tooth and/or in the head, neck, or ear. An endodontist is a specialist in diagnosing and treating this type of pain.

Pulp damage is sometimes caused by a blow to the mouth, and the endodontist specializes in treating these traumatic injuries. For example, a blow to a child's permanent tooth that is not fully developed can cause the root to stop growing. A procedure called apexification stimulates bone to be deposited at the end of the root which makes it possible to then save the tooth through a root canal procedure. An endodontist is specially trained in procedures for replanting teeth that have been knocked out of their sockets.

Once endodontic therapy is completed, your tooth should be examined periodically, usually every 6 - 12 months.  This allows us to make sure the tooth has healed or is healing properly.  If a 6-month evaluation is recommended, you will be scheduled for an appointment before you leave. If it is a year, we will ask you to put it in your calendar and give us a call to schedule your follow-up. 

Occasionally a tooth that has undergone endodontic, treatment fails to heal or pain continues despite therapy. Although rare, sometimes a tooth initially responds to root canal therapy but becomes painful or diseased months or years later. When either of these situations occur, the tooth often can be maintained with a second endodontic treatment.