Specialist Dental Care – The Endodontist
Advanced treatment available at your local Bedford dentist.
In addition to providing routine dental care, including checkups, fillings and extractions, along with cosmetic dentistry; we are also pleased to offer our patients the services of our specialist dentists when the need arises.
It is good to know that you will be able to have treatment at your own local dentist and not have to be referred to an unfamiliar practice to have the procedure done.
One of the well known specialist treatments that we provide is endodontics, more commonly known as root canal treatment. In today’s blog we take a closer look at what this entails.
Specialised training
Although all dentists that practice in the UK must undergo training and attain qualifications in line with the General Dental Council’s requirements, a number of dentists go on to study specific fields in more detail. One of these fields is endodontics, literally meaning ‘inside the tooth’. This is an important part of the tooth as it contains both tiny blood vessels and the nerves that allow the tooth to have sensation.
Root canal infections
When the enamel of the tooth is broken, or even cracked, it can allow bacteria to enter. Eventually this can reach the root canals, seated deep inside the tooth. When this happens, infections are likely to occur, and with them, often significant pain. Whether there is minor discomfort or severe pain though, the tooth will usually need to be treated immediately to prevent the situation from getting worse.
Root canal therapy
The Endodontist at our Bedford practice, Dr Joseph Masih, specialises in this type of treatment and enables The Dental Centre Bedford to provide first class specialist care for our patients. You can be sure that you will be in good hands throughout this treatment.
The canals cannot be treated by antibiotics alone and the infected soft pulp tissues, including nerves and blood vessels, need to be removed. This is done by accessing the canals and removing the bulk of the material, before a thorough cleaning of the canals is carried out to remove any remaining infection. This then leaves hollow canals which need to be filled. Unlike a regular filling, a special filling, called gutta percha, is used for this particular procedure. It is particularly useful as it expands and leaves no tiny spaces that might become reinfected.
As a section of the top of the tooth will have been removed to access the canals, the endodontist will usually use a dental crown to restore the tooth to a functional, stronger condition at the end of the procedure.
If you need specialist dental care for a complex problem, we may well be able to help you at The Dental Centre Bedford. Please call our reception team on 01234 819868 to arrange an appointment with one of our specialist team.