Oral surgery refers to any medical procedure performed on the mouth with specific regard to the teeth, jaw, and/or gums. Depending on the type of procedure being performed, it may be done by your general dentist in their office (a tooth extraction, for example), or by an oral surgeon in a hospital or clinic setting (such as the removal of wisdom teeth or dental implants, depending on the type of implant and the technique being used). General Dentist vs Oral Surgeon General dentist A general dentist has one of two degrees: Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD) or Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS). While it might seem confusing, both degrees mean the same thing. A person who holds either degree has received the same education. The …
5 Reasons Not to Delay Root Canal Treatment
It’s easy to come up with excuses for postponing a root canal procedure. Whether it’s due to the fear of possible discomfort or the concern for how long a root canal can take—or even for the time it might take to locate a root canal specialist—putting it off is not only delaying the inevitable, but may also be causing bigger problems. The tooth is infected and dying; a root canal stops the infection: While the outer layers of the tooth are hard, the inner pulp is made of soft, living tissue. This tissue sometimes becomes infected (through deep decay, cracks in the tooth surface, etc.), and begins to die. Once that happens, treatment is needed right away — to stop the pain, control the infection, and keep it from spreading. Root …
Cracked Tooth: Types, Symptoms & Treatments
You may suspect you have a cracked tooth if you experience sharp pain when biting which quickly disappears. Cracked teeth are relatively common and a generally a by-product of having fillings as well as bruxism, or night-time teeth grinding. Amalgam fillings are notorious for causing the right conditions for crack development in teeth. Because amalgam has a property called dynamic creep, every time pressure is applied to the top of the filling, it deforms slightly by pushing outwards against the walls of the tooth which contains it. After enough time, cracks can form in the tooth structure, eventually leading to the loss of a portion of the tooth or in the worst case, a complete split. Bruxism provides intense forces which can cause …
How a Root Canal Can Save Your Tooth
If you have a severely damaged, decaying tooth or a serious tooth infection (abscess), your dentist may recommend a root canal treatment. Root canals are used to repair and save your tooth instead of removing it. What’s Involved in Root Canal Repair? The pulp is soft tissue inside your tooth that contains nerves, blood vessels and provides nourishment for your tooth. It can become infected if you have: A deep cavity Repeated dental procedures that disturb this tissue A cracked or fractured tooth Injury to the tooth (even if there’s not a visible crack or chip) If untreated, the tissues around the root of your tooth can become infected. When this happens, you will often feel pain and swelling and an abscess may form inside …
Endodontics
What is Endodontics? Endodontics is the specialty of dentistry that deals with the tooth pulp and tissues surrounding the root of a tooth. The pulp, which contains nerves; arterioles and venules as well as lymphatic tissue and fibrous tissue, can become diseased or injured and thus is unable to repair itself. The pulp then dies and endodontic or root canal treatment is required. General dentists may provide root canal therapy or they may refer difficult treatment cases to an endodontist for specialty care. Some of the procedures used in endodontics include: Root canal treatment - This is one of the most common procedures for treating the dental pulp in moderate-to-severe cases of tooth decay. The infected tooth is opened up at the …
(Abscess) Toothache Treatment
An abscessed tooth is an infection caused by tooth decay, periodontal disease or a cracked tooth. These problems can let bacteria enter the pulp (the soft tissue of a tooth that contains nerves, blood vessels and connective tissue) and can lead to pulp death. When pus builds up at the root tip in the jaw bone, it forms a pus-pocket called an abscess. If the abscess is not treated, it can lead to a serious infection in the jaw bone, teeth and surrounding tissues. Symptoms of an abscess include: pain swelling redness in the gums bad taste in the mouth fever An abscessed tooth can be treated with various treatments, depending on the severity of the infection. Here are some of the treatment methods a dentist may …