by Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen | Feb 20, 2023 | Blog, Dental Implants, Dentistry
Dental implants have provided many of us with reliable, attractive, and functional teeth in recent decades. Smiles impacted by total or partial natural tooth loss have been restored to their previous luster – or better!
However, while dental implants have a success rate upwards of 95 percent, failure is possible. You can feel more confident about having a dental implant procedure, and protect your investment in a future that includes robust oral health, if you understand several key factors leading to dental implant success.
What Makes A Dental Implant Successful?
- An accurate diagnosis. Making sure that dental implants are a workable approach to addressing failing or missing teeth is a crucial first step. Your dental professional will do a thorough dental examination, ask questions about your overall health, and assess your gums and your jaw’s bone density.
- Prompt execution of the dental implant procedure. Once it’s been determined that dental implants your solution, planning should begin immediately. Dental implants are completed in stages, with healing time in between each one, so the sooner the process begins, the better.
- Systemic health concerns are addressed. Diabetes, smoking, low bone density, and gum infection can all make your dental implant more likely to fail. Discuss any health issues with your practitioner and follow their directions, as well as those of the rest of your care team.
- A skilled practitioner using up-to-date technology. Dental implants go more smoothly when a dentist has additional training in implants and has the tools to place the implants accurately. The Phoenix Endodontic Group, like many practices that place dental implants, utilizes cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) technology, providing 3-D images of our patients’ soft tissues, teeth, nerves, and bone in one scan.
- Your commitment to ongoing care. Your commitment to proper self-care can make or break a dental implant’s success. To avoid the most common reasons for dental implant failure, you’ll need to brush and floss your implants daily, visit your dentist regularly for checkups, get LOTS of calcium, and proactively address conditions that damage your mouth, such as smoking and bruxism (grinding your teeth).
“Many of our dental implant clients do not initially realize that the success of the implant procedure requires partnership between them and their dental professional,” says Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen, who practices at the Phoenix Endodontic Group. “Our staff work closely with clients before, during, and after the dental implant process to ensure best results.”
by Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen | Jan 23, 2023 | Blog, GentalWave, Root Canal
When it comes to saving natural teeth, endodontists are always on the lookout for new technology and techniques to make procedures less painful, more efficient, and more likely to provide long-term successful treatment. The Phoenix Endodontic Group has recently added the new GentleWave G4 system for root canals.
GentleWave takes a substantially different approach to root canal treatment, using multisonic vibration and fluid dynamics to cleanse and reshape even the most unusual and complex tooth root systems. We are excited to be one of only two practices in Arizona to be employing this technology.
Here’s a quick overview of how GentleWave differs from a traditional root canal and why these differences add up to a better overall experience.
Advantages Of The GentleWave System During Root Canal Treatment
- GentleWave is minimally invasive. The most impactful difference is the GentleWave system requires endodontists take far less time using files to clean and reshape canals.
- GentleWave uses fluid dynamics to clean away infection. The irrigating fluid used in the GentleWave system passes through a narrow opening on the instrument used by the endodontist, creating a cascade of tiny imploding vapor bubbles. These mini-explosions create shockwaves that separate bacteria, biofilm, and debris from the tooth.
- GentleWave’s reliance on fluid movement allows it to clean even challenging root canals. The system leverages the power of the irrigating fluid’s journey through the tooth to remove more than 98 percent of bio-film and organic tissue, even in canals the endodontist has not previously been able to detect!
- GentleWave procedures result in less post-procedure discomfort. More than 96 percent of patients treated with GentleWave report little or no pain 48 hours after the procedure.
- The GentleWave system can reduce treatment time for patients. Many patients treated with GentleWave can be done with their root canal treatment in a single session.
“GentleWave, in my experience and that of other endodontists, is proving to be a game-changer in terms of saving natural teeth,” says Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen of the Phoenix Endodontic Group. “Our staff is happy to explain how GentleWave works and discuss whether it is an option for your specific treatment.”
by Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen | Dec 20, 2022 | Blog, Endodontics, Endodontist, Root Canal
More than 41,000 root canal treatments are performed each day in the United States – more than 15 million each year. Threats to your natural teeth leading to a root canal are not complicated, but each person’s experience of their symptoms can be unique.
Let’s look at some of the causes and symptoms of tooth infections that can result in a root canal. If you experience any of these symptoms, contact your dentist or endodontist immediately to schedule an examination.
The Two D’s Of Tooth Root Infection
Root canal treatment has proven to be one of the most effective ways to deal with infection in the pulp of the tooth. The infection is usually related to two major culprits: damage to the tooth structure that lets in bacteria, or advanced decay reaching the interior areas of the tooth. Such an infection might show in a variety of symptoms.
Symptoms Indicating A Root Canal Is Needed
1. Persistent pain in a tooth. A healthy tooth does not hurt. While tooth pain can require other treatments beyond or in addition to a root canal, constant or recurring tooth pain should definitely prompt a visit to your dental provider.
2. A pimple or “gum boil” near the infected tooth. Dying tissues in the tooth can cause a buildup of fluid under the gum surface. If the boil bursts, the fluid will have an unpleasant taste and odor.
3. Swollen gums near the infected tooth. Your gums may feel tender or look swollen, even if there is no gum boil present. This swelling can be intermittent, so you may not be in the clear even if the swelling goes away for a while.
4. Sensitivity to sources of heat and cold. An infected tooth can feel pain or sensitivity to hot or cold food and drink, even long after you’ve consumed it. The sensation can be anything from a sharp pain to a dull ache.
5. Your tooth feels loose when you touch it. The tooth infection can seep acidic wastes that soften the bone around the tooth needing a root canal, making it feel loose inside your mouth.
6. The tooth is discolored. The roots of a badly infected tooth may be receiving a poor supply of blood, which can make it look darker than usual.
Clearly, it’s difficult to know if you need a root canal without a thorough dental examination. If you have one or more of these symptoms, make an appointment now to get an official diagnosis.
“Symptoms of dental issues requiring a root canal can be highly individualized,” says Dr. Jacqueline Allen, Phoenix Endodontic Group. “Our endodontists will evaluate your symptoms and plan your treatment so you can save your tooth and stop hurting.”
by Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen | Nov 21, 2022 | Blog, Endodontics, Endodontist, Phoenix Endodontic Group, Root Canal
It can be a shock to learn you require root canal therapy to address an injured or infected tooth. If you’ve never been to an endodontist, or don’t have any friends or family who’ve had a root canal, you may naturally have a lot of questions about what to expect.
Understanding the details of root canal therapy can help you come to your first appointment better prepared. Here is a brief overview of the main stages of a root canal.
The Key Stages Of Root Canal Therapy
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Confirmation of diagnosis. Your endodontist will confirm your diagnosis when you arrive for your first root canal therapy appointment by reviewing your X-rays and performing a visual inspection of your tooth.
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Local anesthesia and dental dam placement. The endodontist will numb the area around your tooth with a local anesthetic. They will also place a rubber sheet known as a dental dam around the tooth to keep it clean and dry while they work.
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Creating an access hole. After the tooth has been prepared and your gums numbed, an access hole will be drilled in the crown of the tooth to allow the dental pulp to be removed.
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Pulp removal, filing, and cleaning. Once the access hole is created, the endodontist removes the infected tooth pulp, using special instruments to reshape the tooth’s canals and ensure all infected material is gone. Then the inner tooth is treated with antimicrobial washes to remove debris and aid healing.
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Filling the root canals. This is the step that gives root canal therapy its name. A biocompatible material, usually gutta-percha, is used to fill the canals and prevent future infections.
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Placement of temporary filling. The first part of the root canal procedure concludes with a temporary filling on your tooth to ensure the tooth heals and bacteria is not re-introduced while your permanent restoration is being fabricated.
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Placement of permanent filling and crown. Your root canal therapy is not considered complete until a permanent filling is placed on your tooth, AND the tooth is capped with a crown. A crown provides extra protection against infection and shores up the structural integrity of your natural tooth.
“Patients are surprised sometimes to find out that root canal therapy follows a simple, straightforward process,” says Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen, who practices at Phoenix Endodontic Group. “But our profession’s approach to this procedure has been developed and refined for more than 150 years. We’re happy to explain each step in detail, and to address any concerns or questions you may have, every step of the way. We want each of our patients to be comfortable and confident.”
by Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen | Oct 21, 2022 | Blog, Endodontics, Endodontist, Root Canal, Vital Pulp Therapy (VPT)
While endodontists excel at performing root canal therapy on teeth compromised by injury or infection, they also have other effective techniques for saving natural teeth. One procedure that can provide excellent results is vital pulp therapy, or VPT. Once considered something that could only be performed on younger patients with still-developing adult teeth, today VPT has been proven even more broadly effective when patients meet a select set of circumstances related to the state of their pulp — the mass of blood vessels, nerves and connective tissues that represent the living center of a tooth.
How Vital Pulp Therapy Works To Preserve Natural Teeth
There are three main versions of VPT. Endodontists determine which one has the greatest chance of success by a careful examination of a patient’s tooth and of the decay or infection present in the pulp.
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Direct capping of the pulp is most often used in immature adult teeth or in teeth that do not show evidence of irreversible pulp inflammation. This approach calls for the removal of all the infected pulp, followed by irrigation of the affected area with a solution of 17 percent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Once the area from which the pulp was removed has been capped with a bioceramic material, the healing can begin.
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Indirect capping is a technique that is similar to direct capping, but in this case, some or all of the infected pulp is left in place to avoid direct exposure of the pulp during examination or the capping process itself. A cap is placed over the infected pulp to stop the infection from spreading and to promote reparative dentin development in the tooth.
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Pulpotomies are yet another type of vital pulp therapy. They are performed by removal of infected pulp down to healthy coronal tissue, or even into the canals of the tooth if necessary. Medicines may be applied to address the inflammation and the infection. As with the previous two treatments, the area is capped with a biocompatible ceramic restoration. A light-cured glass ionomer may be added above the cap to ensure the solution for saving the tooth is permanent and leak proof.
“Vital pulp therapy offers another opportunity for endodontists to preserve natural teeth — in some cases, the pulp itself can be preserved,” says Dr. Allen, who practices with the Phoenix Endodontic Group. “Our specialty is constantly evaluating therapeutic techniques like VPT for their efficacy in saving teeth over the long term.”
