The term endodontics is a neologism that we borrowed from French, which resulted from the combination of two words originating from the Old Greek (endo – “inside” and odons – “tooth”).

As evidenced by its name, endodontics is that branch of dentistry which deals with the treatment of the internal parts of the teeth (what is under the enamel and dentin, i.e. the dental pulp). The endodontic treatment is necessary when the dental pulp (which contains canals, nerves, arterioles, venules, lymphatic and fibrous tissues, etc.) becomes ill or hurt.

The purpose of endodontics is that of preserving as much as possible natural denture, extraction being the last choice. The loss of a tooth can accelerate the loss of other teeth. Keeping a tooth means maintaining that space occupied, preventing other teeth from inclining/migrating and eliminating the necessity of a dental bridge or an implant and a crown. That is why, even if it is more expensive than an extraction, the endodontic treatment (of the canal) is actually a much more efficient treatment from the cost point of view both for a medium and long term.

Sometimes, an adequate local sanitation, a drug treatment with antibiotics and well performed filling can stop decay or a possible infection from developing.

A severely decayed and infected tooth can be sometimes saved by canal treatment techniques. These often include the removal of the infected nerve, disinfection, preparation and obturation of the radicular space with specific biocompatible materials and, eventually, the reconstruction of the dental crown (filling).

Within our clinic, the length of the radicular canals is determined with high precision using a special machine called apex locator.

During the aforementioned stages, there are sometimes needed dental X-rays so that the doctor can get some reference points and have control over the execution of the dental work. The intraoral digital radiology machine that our clinic has, allows us to perform these X-rays even during the treatment session, the radiation exposure level being extremely low (lower than the one caused by solar radiations during one day).

We need to point out the fact that canal treatments are always performed under local anesthesia so they are completely painless and, at our clinic, we give our best to make them as comfortable as they can be.

Depending on the severity of the case, a canal treatment can take up from one to three hours, the number of sessions being also comprised from one to three.

The necessity of an endodontic treatment is, most of the times, established after an initial consultation, because these affections can be hidden, painless or undetectable by the patient.

If more than 6 months have passed from your last dental consultation, we invite you for a thorough medical control at our clinic to detect the risks at an early stage and to solve the problems which, left untreated, can prove to be expensive in the future.