Before understanding the differentiation, both Endodontists and Dentists are dental care professionals, but with different dental treatment practices.
Endodontists are more of a dental specialist and offer a more prominent level of expertise in the dental field. The role of the Endodontist along with its treatment speciality is covered below.
What Is The Role of an Endodontist
The responsibilities of an Endodontist are predominantly working with root canal therapy for infected teeth. They are a more surgical option compared with a Dentist, especially for dentures, where Dentists would look fit in false artificial teeth, but Endodontists perform root canal surgery as the solution to weak, infected or decayed teeth. Let’s understand some more facts about an Endodontist:
Greater Education
An endodontist requires additional skill and training for Endodontic Therapy, theoretically and practically after four years in dental school.
Specialists and Expertise
Endodontists predominantly focus on root canal, or dental pulp therapy. The sole focus is to diagnose and treat tooth pain. Dentists in this regard diagnose on top of weak or pained teeth with implants and dentures. The cause of oral pain and inflammation is found with the use of X-Rays.
The Use of Advanced Technologies
Endodontists are tasked with more equipped technologies designed to maintain high success rates and ensure patients have successful pain-free treatment. They are experts within the pain field and can manage patient pain and perform diagnoses with microscopes and 3D X-ray imaging technology.
Root Canal Treatment
Root Canal treatment treats infected teeth caused by bacteria and decay. Root Canal is required where the pulp has an infection with bacteria, common from eating and drinking pain and loose teeth. The treatment removes the bacteria, the infected tooth and fits a root canal in the gap with a crown, healing naturally.
The process of Endodontic Treatment
Before patients are treated with Endodontic Treatment (Root Canal), the patient will be diagnosed with local anaesthetic pain to isolate the tooth and numb the pain the treatment causes.
The Endodontist will determine how infected and inflamed the damaged tooth is using 3D microscope technology. The bacteria (pulp) is firstly removed from under the soft tissue along with any infected pulp. The removal of the tooth is then performed with a latex rubber sheet. The area is then cleaned appropriately before enlarging the canals to make sure its shape fits with perfect within the gap.
A temporary filling is implanted temporarily, before filling the gap with a crown with either metal, porcelain or a ceramic material. The tissue that has been infected underneath the tooth will heal itself over time. The tooth will survive if good oral hygiene is practised.
The treatment can be repeated should the canal area becomes re-infected.
Do you require Endodontic Treatment?
If you experience any form of tooth pain, sensitivity or swelling, pay a visit to a dentist who will more likely refer you to an endodontist to perform root canal treatment. An endodontist will look at the best treatment option to determine the best form of action to diagnose the infected tooth.