Endodontics

Dr Seddon has dealt only with endodontic cases for over nineteen years, he has treated over 18,000 teeth with endodontic disease in his career. He has a passionate interest 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 Dr Seddon. Root canal pain can be excruciating, and that is why we offer same day emergency appointments to relieve pain as soon as possible. 

Antibiotics in Endodontic Treatment

A local anaesthetic will be given.  A sheet of latex called the "rubber dam" (we've got nonlatex ones too) will be placed around the tooth to isolate it, hence keeping it clean and dry during treatment.  The treatment consists of three or four basic steps, but the number of visits will depend on your particular case.  Some treatments take 2 visits but many are just a single visit.  Occasionally 3 appointments are needed.

In any case, it depends on the degree of infection/inflammation and degree of treatment difficulty.  To me, it's more important to do it the very best we can than to meet a specific time criteria.  

There are, of course, no guarantees.  Root canal or endodontic therapy has a very high degree of success, up to 90%.  Teeth which can be treated near ideal have a success rate up to ninety percent!  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 or fails you still have options. We will work closely with your Cosmetic Dentist, Orthodontist or General Dentist to make sure our treatment doesn't impact your routine dental care, and can always schedule appointments even if your are undergoing teeth whitening, or Invisalign treatment. 

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. Dr Seddon has considerable experience in diagnosing and treating this type of pain.

Treats Traumatic Injuries

Pulp damage is sometimes caused by a blow to the mouth, and we have vast experience 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. We also have new filling materials and techniques only made possible by use of the dental microscope.  

Once endodontic therapy is completed, your tooth should be examined periodically, usually at 6 - 12 month intervals. This allows us to make sure the tooth has healed or is healing properly. We will schedule a tentative follow-up appointment upon completion of endodontic therapy and we will contact you to remind you of the follow-up appointment. We do not charge an additional fee for the follow-up appointments as we consider them to be an essential component of the endodontic therapy performed. Since our goal is the long-term, disease-free survivability of your tooth, our office is committed to re-evaluate the cases we perform for 10+ years.

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.