Procedures
Traumatic Injuries
Dislodged Teeth
Injuries to the mouth can cause teeth to be pushed back into their sockets. Your endodontist or general dentist may reposition and stabilize your tooth. Root canal treatment is usually started within a few weeks of the injury and a medication, such as calcium hydroxide, will be placed inside the tooth. Eventually, a permanent root canal filling will be placed.
Sometimes a tooth may be pushed partially out of the socket. Again, your endodontist or general dentist may reposition and stabilize your tooth. If the pulp remains healthy, then no other treatment is necessary. Yet, if the pulp becomes damaged or infected, root canal treatment will be required.
Avulsed Teeth
If an injury causes a tooth to be completely knocked out of your mouth, it is important that you are treated immediately! If this happens to you, keep the tooth moist. If possible, put the tooth back into the socket. A tooth can be saved if it remains moist. You can even put the tooth in milk, or a glass of water (add a pinch of salt.) Your Endodontist may start root canal treatment based upon the stage of root development. The length of time the tooth was out of your mouth, and the way the tooth was stored, may influence the type of treatment you receive.
Injuries in children
An injured immature tooth may need one of the following procedures to improve the chances of saving the tooth:
Apexogenesis
This procedure stimulates the root to continue development. Soft tissue is covered with medication to encourage growth. The medication is placed to keep the remaining pulp tissue as viable as possible, in hopes of achieving root end closure. The tip of the root(apex) will continue to close as the child grows older. In turn, the walls of the root canal may thicken. The goal is to achieve root end closure. Once this goal is completed, permanent root canal therapy must be done. Even if the patient is comfortable when the pulp has been injured, and left untreated, the tooth will eventually develop either necrosis of the pulp, calcification, or possibly, resorption.
Apexification
In this case, the unhealthy pulp is removed. The doctor will place medication into the root to help a hard tissue form near the root tip. This hardened tissue provides a barrier for the root canal filling. At this point, the root canal walls will not continue to develop, making the tooth susceptible to fractures. Therefore, it is important to have the tooth properly restored by your dentist after the Root Canal Therapy is completed.
