Endodontics
Endodontics
What is Endodontics?
Endodontics is the discipline of dentistry that studies and treats the dental pulp and the tissues surrounding the roots of the tooth.
Endodontic therapy deals with inflammation and infection of the dental pulp, the tissue inside the tooth made up of vessels, connective cells and nerve endings.
When the internal tissues of the tooth are suffering, it is necessary to intervene with endodontic therapy to counteract the degenerative process of the dental pulp and avoid tooth loss.
The Endodontium: the internal tissues of the tooth
The Endodontium is the set of internal structures of the tooth, and can be
divided into two sections:
Pulp chamber – Cavity inside the crown of the tooth, located in the central part of the tooth, containing a large amount of dental pulp.
Root Canals – Extension of the internal cavity that connects the dental pulp to the periodontium (the set of tissues surrounding the teeth).
In describing the endodontium it is important to deal with its internal component, the dental pulp: it is a connective tissue made up of blood vessels, nerves and odontoblasts.
The latter are the cells responsible for the development of dentin, the hard tissue that forms the inner part of the tooth, and which are responsable for hydrating the dentin in adulthood, maintaining the tooth.
Root canal Therapy
In case of dental pulp disease it is important to intervene to remove the infected tissues and stop the inflammation, which can hold a serious dental pain (the well-known “toothache”) and can cause the risks of losing the tooth.
Endodontic therapy takes the name of Root Canal Therapy or Devitalization, because it consists in the extraction of the damaged dental pulp.
After the infected dental pulp has been eliminated, the internal component of the tooth is cleaned and the root canals shaped, decontaminating these areas from bacteria and other pathogens.
Finally, the filling of the tooth is performed, returning to the patient a natural-looking tooth and a feeling of well-being that had been stolen from him by toothache and the worries connected to them.
