North Shore Endodontics

What is root canal therapy?

In simple terms, root canal treatment Is used as a way to save a tooth that is labelled as ‘dead’.

Root canal treatment, or endodontic treatment, is the procedure involving the removal of infected or dead pulp from your tooth root canal area (The area inside of the hard part of your tooth).

Once this matter is removed the cavity is filled with a permanent filling, and finally fitted with a crown. Your tooth has now been saved.

If root canal work is avoided and the situation worsen, the infection will become more severe and eventually lead to an abscess (A collection of pus that causes a bacterial infection and can spread to surrounding tissue with ease)

Your initial appointment will consist of a consultation explaining your diagnosis and treatment options.

Occasionally treatment can be carried out on the same day as the initial consultation however a complex medical history or treatment plan or patients requiring Intravenous Sedation for treatment will require a separate consultation, at which time appropriate treatment appointments will be made.

Please assist us by providing the following information at the time of your consultation:
** Your referral letter and any x-rays if applicable
** A list of medications you are presently taking

NB: All surgical procedures and treatment under Intravenous Sedation are carried out at our Chatswood practice.

You will notice in the treatment rooms that latest in barrier techniques to eliminate any risk of contamination. All of our equipment is disinfected and sterilised prior to treating each patient. Our priority is to provide state-of-the-art endodontic care while maintaining strict operating protocol.
Our fully computerised equipment (Autoclave) is carefully monitored for 100% effectiveness. We use only safe and effective materials in connection with your root canal therapy.
Our practice adheres to the highest standards of infection control in accordance with the NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council) guidelines.

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Various circumstances may lengthen the time allocated for a procedure. Emergency cases also arise and cause delays.

North Shore Endodontics is open on Mondays and Friday from 8.00am until 5.00pm.

Every attempt will be made to see you as soon as possible.
We appreciate your understanding and patience.

Injuries to the mouth can cause teeth to be pushed back into their sockets. Your endodontist 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 implanted.

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.

Not only will you receive the best endodontic treatment but you will also be looked after by the best team 🙂

Nothing looks, feels or functions like your natural tooth. Regular brushing and flossing, along with six-month check-ups from your dentist, can help you keep your teeth for a lifetime.

Sometimes your teeth may have infection or disease and will need additional care. When possible, you should always consider treatments to save your teeth. You may think, why not have a tooth pulled, especially if no one can see it, but you will know your tooth is missing and it will negatively impact your quality of life.

Don’t get a tooth pulled because you think its easier or more cost-effective. Missing teeth can cause other teeth to shift, affect your ability to properly chew and ruin your smile. Tooth extraction often is more painful than the infection itself, and replacing an extracted tooth with an artificial one requires additional dental visits that can quickly add up.

Do you have a cracked tooth?

Learn about the symptoms and how endodontists help patients avoid tooth extraction. It's important to treat a cracked tooth quickly, so the problem doesn't get worse.

Cracked Teeth Do you have a cracked tooth? Learn about the symptoms and how endodontists help patients avoid tooth extraction. It's important to treat a cracked tooth quic...

Modern endodontics offers advancements in technologies, procedures and materials, giving you many treatment options to save your natural teeth. It’s important to understand your choices and how they’ll impact both your tooth and your future dental health.

It’s always best to retain your natural teeth whenever possible and endodontic treatment should be your first choice for the best health and cosmetic results.
Endodontists are specialists in saving teeth. They can evaluate your condition and provide the best treatment plan to help you save your teeth for a lifetime.

The term “endodontics” derives from the Greek words “endo,” which means “inside,” and “odont,” which means tooth. So the job of an endodontist is to treat the inside of the teeth.

Often, the goal in endodontics is to save the tooth. Instead of simply pulling a diseased or damaged tooth, an endodontist clears the infection and decay to protect the interior of the tooth from further damage. Root canals are the treatment endodontists are most well-known for performing on a patient’s tooth.

During a root canal, the endodontist performs local anesthesia on the gum tissue around the tooth and then removes the infected tissue and pulp from inside the tooth. He or she then deep cleans the chamber that held the pulp and the roots, removing any lingering bacteria. Once all traces of infection are gone and the interior of the tooth is fully dry, the endodontist fills the chamber and roots with a special material called gutta-percha. Depending on how the exterior of the tooth looks, the endodontist will work with the dentist who will finish the treatment by placing a crown or other type of dental restoration on the tooth to protect it.

An endodontist can also perform surgery to correct a tooth that didn’t fully heal after a root canal or can perform an apicoectomy, a surgery that removes the tip of a tooth’s roots. Although the work endodontists do is often associated with infection and severe decay, they can also work to save teeth that have been damaged by injury.

Feeling soreness after a root canal is unusual, but it happens often enough to discuss. Your tooth can be sore and tender, but not necessarily painful, but sore and tender to percussion and chewing for up to six months, even after you’ve gotten the crown.

The concept or theory here is that the infection was so great inside of the tooth that it affected the surrounding areas in the jaw bone and that the body has to fix those areas and that takes time.

At North Shore Endodontics, we provide the highest standard of professional care in a friendly, comfortable environment.

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A recent evidence-based study of teeth having a primary (first time) root canal treatment cited conditions that contributed to the success and longevity of root canal fillings.
One was the absence of root canal infection that had spread into the bone — in other words, the earlier the tooth is treated the better the outcome.

So don’t put off treatment if you need it!

Another was the quality of the root canal treatment itself. How quickly and effectively the damaged tooth was repaired after root canal treatment was completed was also a factor, meaning it’s important to have the tooth restored with a permanent filling or crown, which usually requires a second visit, without delay.

If you decide to go ahead with endodontic treatment, it may start immediately and could even finish in one appointment.
When you go to see an endodontist, he or she will review your dental history and perform a thorough exam; diagnostic imaging and testing will be used help to identify the exact problem.

After making a diagnosis, your endodontist will discuss the benefits, options, and risks involved, so you can understand how treatment can relieve your pain and save your tooth.

There are many different types of cracked teeth, that can show a variety of symptoms, including erratic pain when chewing, possibly with release of biting pressure, or pain when your tooth is exposed to temperature extremes.
In many cases, the pain may come and go, and your dentist may have difficulty locating which tooth is causing the discomfort. If you are experiencing these dental symptoms or suspect a cracked tooth, see an endodontist, who specializes in saving cracked teeth.

The treatment and outcome for your tooth depends on the type, location and extent of the crack. If you think you have a cracked tooth, it’s important to seek treatment quickly, before the problem gets worse.

Once treated, most cracked teeth continue to function and provide years of comfortable chewing.

A big question now in dentistry is, do you go right to the implant because it’s more predictable than a root canal?
To make this decision, you need to ask your dentist about the predictability of success of a root canal. This is something that you, after you consider all the options for your unique case.

If you talk to an endodontist, he/she will recommend doing the root canal. If you talk to an oral surgeon, he/she will recommend doing an implant.

All healthcare professionals tend to recommend things that we know more about and are more skilled in or comfortable with. Always keep in mind this inherent bias 😉

Once you find out you need a root canal, it’s like a ticking time bomb, because the infection will eventually blow up. You’ll get more pressure and more swelling if you wait. You might get a bad taste in your mouth or might start to go numb. The infection could spread to more vulnerable tissues, like your heart. This is why people used to die of tooth infections hundreds of years ago.

Your dentist will prescribe you antibiotics for the infection. Once you start taking antibiotics, you’ve bought yourself four or five weeks. If you get on the antibiotics before the root canal is done, you’ll have less pain during the
procedure because this will make it easier to get you numb.

As soon as you find out you need a root canal, you need antibiotics right away. Don’t delay! It could turn into a life-threatening condition if you don’t. Yes, a tooth infection can kill you!

It's not all about root canal, there are other treatments done by endodontists such as:

** Endodontic retreatment which is needed when a previous root canal treatment fails or the tooth develops new problems.

** Saving a tooth that has been dislodged or completely knocked out of its socket because of trauma or injury. A dislodged tooth can be repositioned and possibly stabilized by splinting it to adjacent teeth, after which root canal therapy is done. The tooth can then heal and tighten in its socket.

** Endodontic surgery in cases where traditional root canal therapy cannot save a tooth. This includes procedures such as an apicoectomy, which is done to remove the apex (end) of the tooth root when the presence of calcium deposits or accessory canals would otherwise prevent a successful outcome.

Despite the outdated jokes you may have heard, endodontic procedures (especially in the hands of a skilled specialist) involve minimal or no pain.

Endodontists use state-of-the-art equipment like ultrasonic instruments that operate via high frequency vibration, fiber optic illuminators, and advanced microscope technology to find disease deep inside the tooth. This allows us to work accurately and efficiently while keeping you as comfortable as possible.

We are committed to helping you keep your natural teeth — and with proper care, most teeth that have had endodontic treatment can last a very long time… even a lifetime 🙂

An injured immature tooth may need one of the following procedures to improve the chances of saving the tooth:

Apexogenesis
This procedure encourages the root to continue development as the pulp is healed. Soft tissue is covered with medication to encourage growth. The tip of the root (apex) will continue to close as the child gets older. In turn, the walls of the root canal will thicken. If the pulp heals, no additional treatment will be necessary. The more mature the root becomes, the better the chance to save the tooth.

Apexification
In this case, the unhealthy pulp is removed. The doctors 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. So it is important to have the tooth properly restored by your dentist.

To diagnose whether or not you need a root canal, your dentist will need to determine if the pulp inside the tooth is dead or dying or if it’s possible that the pulp could recover.
For other conditions, a doctor can give you a blood test and the results will come back either positive or negative. It’s not so cut and dried with root canals. Diagnosing whether you need a root canal does have a scientific basis but it can be a bit of an art form to find out how diseased the pulp of the tooth is.

This is why you really need someone who is experienced. A practitioner who rushes this process could choose the wrong treatment of the tooth.

WHAT AFFECTS ROOT CANAL SUCCESS?

1. HOW QUICKLY THE TOOTH IS TREATED
The sooner a tooth is treated, the better the outcome. If you need a root canal, don’t put it off!

2. THE QUALITY OF THE ROOT CANAL
Root canal treatment is a delicate, meticulous procedure. If at all possible, it is best to have an experienced endodontist, like Dr. Chopra, Dr. Tadrissi, or Dr. Reiter, perform your root canal. Endodontists have specialized expertise, as they have completed 2-3 extra years of training to be able to successfully diagnose and treat tooth pain.

3. HOW QUICKLY THE TOOTH WAS REPAIRED
After you receive root canal treatment, it’s critical to have your tooth restored with a crown or permanent filling as soon as possible. This typically means a second visit to the dentist.

4. WHICH TOOTH NEEDS TREATMENT
Your front teeth, primarily used for cutting into your food, have single roots, making them easier to treat. On the other end of the spectrum, back teeth have two to three roots, which complicates root canal treatment.

5. AGE
Older teeth are more fragile and have a greater chance of fracturing, whether they’ve undergone root canal treatment or not.

For Dentist Referrals & Information, please access our online referral form on our website and attach any radiographs pertinent to your patient. A thorough history including clinical findings would be much appreciated.

We offer treatment under Intravenous Sedation for very anxious patients and for most surgical procedures. This is administered by Dr. Firoz Vellani.

Click below to access the information on our website.

Dentist Info – North Shore Endodontics Dentist Infonbsuperadmin2021-04-20T00:35:18+00:00 Dentist InfoOur Endodontists Dr Sydney Bader Dr John Barbat Please access our online referral form and attach any radiographs pertinent to your patient. Alternatively, download a PDF version of a referral form. A thorough history including clinical f...

Occasionally treatment can be carried out on the same day as the initial consultation however a complex medical history or treatment plan or patients requiring Intravenous Sedation for treatment will require a separate consultation, at which time appropriate treatment appointments will be made.

Your initial appointment will consist of a consultation explaining your diagnosis and treatment options.
Please assist us by providing the following information at the time of your consultation:
- Your referral letter and any x-rays if applicable
- A list of medications you are presently taking

Our practices adhere to the highest standards of infection control in accordance with the NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council) guidelines.

Our fully computerised equipment (Autoclave) is carefully monitored for 100% effectiveness. We use only safe and effective materials in connection with your root canal therapy.
Our priority at North Shore Endodontics is to provide state-of-the-art endodontic care while maintaining strict operating protocol.

You will notice in the treatment rooms that latest in barrier techniques to eliminate any risk of contamination. All of our equipment is disinfected and sterilised prior to treating each patient.

Why are X-rays taken?
It is necessary to take a number of radiographs (commonly called x-rays) during treatment - these are required to check various treatment stages. Since the roots are under the gum and in bone, the root canals cannot be seen with the naked eye and can only be visualised using radiographs.

Please assist us by providing any X-Rays you may already have at the time of your initial consultation and list of medications you are presently taking.