WE’RE CURIOUS: HOW MUCH do you know about the different specialties within the field of dentistry? Did you know there are nine of them? You might’ve gone to a pediatric dentist as a child and received treatment from an orthodontist as a teenager. Naturally, the specialty we’re most interested in is endodontics. Our specialty is all about saving teeth.
The Training an Endodontist Needs to Save Teeth
Every endodontist starts out by getting the same education as a regular dentist. We earn bachelor’s degrees, we pass the Dental Admission Test, and we earn doctoral degrees in either Dental Surgery or Dental Medicine. Once we are licensed to practice dentistry, we go on to complete years of residency in endodontics so that we can become certified. It’s something only 3% of all dentists ever do.
What Does an Endodontist Do?
When we say we save teeth, we mean that endodontics is the dental specialty centered on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases and injuries of the dental pulp (the soft tissue at the core of each tooth). In addition to the pulp, we examine a patient’s gums and the other tissues that impact the health and performance of their teeth.
Treatments endodontists offer include:
- Root canal therapy (also called endodontic treatment, as it’s the most common one we do)
- Removing and replacing infected dental pulp and tissues
- Diagnosing, examining, and tracking diseases in the gum tissue and dental roots
- Probing the gum pockets around each tooth to diagnose, prevent, and treat gingivitis and periodontitis
The Superpower of the Endodontist: Working Within a Tiny Space
A human tooth isn’t very large, and the pulp chamber and root canals inside it are even smaller than that. Root canals are smaller than Roosevelt’s ear on a dime. That’s the size of the space endodontists work in when we’re saving teeth. To do this, we use high-tech equipment such as imaging and operating microscopes, and we need our steady hands and all those years of education, training, and experience.
Thank the Endodontist for Another Tooth Saved!
If you have a tooth in need of saving, there’s no better person to see than an endodontist. Maybe you think it would be less of a hassle to just get the tooth pulled and replaced with a false one, but even modern high-end dental implants can’t match the appearance and function of your natural tooth. If you think you could benefit from endodontic treatment, give us a call!
