Our office offers a progressive, proactive approach to resolving your unique dental needs. This website allows your doctor to send us referral information about you as well as digital x-rays. It allows you to fill out the medical history and other forms ahead of time. All this information is encrypted and automatically entered into your electronic chart for your privacy. We are, essentially, a paperless office. Each treatment room is equipped with the latest technology including specialized German Zeiss operating microscopes built for the purpose of endodontic procedures. We utilize digital radiography rather than traditional x-ray films, so you are exposed to 80-90% less radiation during radiography procedures. We also utilize 3D imaging with some patients. We monitor all the latest information in our field and utilize the latest technology in the diagnosis and treatment of your root canal problems.

Endodontics is a dental specialty that focuses on diseases of the dental pulp and its supporting structures. Endodontists perform a wide range of advanced dental procedures, including root canals, related surgery, and restoration of damaged teeth. As specialists, endodontists are dentists that have completed at least two years of postgraduate training following dental school. General dentists can perform root canals, but often refer their patients to endodontists when diagnosis or treatment is more complex than usual. Because endodontists specialize in root canals and related treatments, an endodontist can often preserve and restore your natural teeth in complicated cases that might otherwise require extraction.

The most common reasons our patients visit us include pain or sensitivity due to a problem tooth, or referral by a general dentist for complex endodontic treatment, such as a root canal or root canal revision. A root canal or other endodontic procedure is needed when the pulp inside your tooth becomes inflamed or infected. This can happen because of decay, cracks or fractures in the tooth, repeated dental procedures, or trauma. If you dont seek treatment for your inflammation or infection, it can become painful or develop an abscess. In many cases, pain may be the reason you were referred to us. However, sometimes patients dont feel pain at all, and are referred because their dentist discovered a problem during a routine dental visit. It is important to treat endodontic problems early, to reduce the potential for pain and improve dental outcomes.

With modern anesthetics, most endodontic treatments are not painful. When problems are treated early, root canal procedures should feel about the same as a standard filling. For the majority of our patients, oral sedation and a local anesthetic are all that is needed to prevent pain. When patients have severe dental anxiety, or are coming to us because of severe pain, we can prescribe IV medication or nitrous oxide. In most cases, any pain felt during a root canal procedure is caused by the underlying problem the infected or inflamed pulp and not the procedure itself. Because of this, its important to seek treatment before you are in extreme pain whenever possible. A successful endodontic procedure will heal your tooth, and ensure you are pain-free following your treatment.

As we like to say at Frisco Endodontics, your natural teeth are your best teeth. Instead of extracting your teeth and replacing them with dental implants, we work to preserve your natural teeth whenever possible. To understand how endodontics can help us achieve this goal, it helps to understand the anatomy of your teeth. Each tooth is comprised of a hard outer layer called enamel, an inner supportive layer called dentin, and a central layer called the pulp, which contains the blood vessels, nerves and tissue needed for tooth development. Blood vessels enter the tooth through its root, and supply nourishment to the pulp through narrow passages called root canals. When the pulp becomes inflamed or infected, it is necessary to remove the pulp, clean the canals, and seal them off to prevent further infection. Because the pulp is essential only for initial tooth development, removing it does not cause the tooth to die. The surrounding tissues continue to nourish the tooth, making it possible to preserve your natural teeth while removing the source of inflammation or infection.

Sometimes, the root canal space in a tooth treated by root canal therapy becomes re-infected, and requires retreatment. This can happen due to decay or an unsuccessful restoration following a previous root canal. In this procedure, the initial root filling material will be removed, and the endodontist will clean the canals, re-fill and re-seal the space.

An apicoectomy or root-end resection is a surgical form of root canal therapy that can help save a tooth following a persistent inflammation or infection after a root canal procedure. In this treatment, your endodontist will open the gum tissue by the tooth to reveal the bone, and remove any inflamed or infected tissue, as well as the end of the root. A small filling is then placed in the remaining canals.

Trauma or developmental abnormalities can cause infection in the pulp of a childs tooth. Because the tooth is still developing, pulpal regeneration can be performed, allowing the root of the tooth to fully form. This strengthens the tooth, and leads to a better long-term prognosis. In a pulpal regeneration procedure, the infected canal is cleaned, shaped, and filled with an antibiotic mixture that remains in the tooth for a month. Bleeding is stimulated, allowing the tooth to regenerate vasculature and nerve fibers, and enabling the root to continue to develop.

Core build-up is a procedure that restores a tooth after a root canal, and before the placement of a crown. In some cases, your endodontist may place a post inside the tooth to retain the core buildup and support the crown.

Dr. Sandy Wang graduated from Baylor College of Dentistry in 2001. As a person that values experience and learned skills, she did a post graduate year General Practice Residency (GPR) in Dallas at the VA Hospital to gain practical experience in a variety of dental needs across all age groups. At the VA, she trained under experienced endodontists, periodontists and prosthodontists, and gained experience in advanced dentistry techniques, including root canals, dental implants, surgery and sedation. She is certified in the use of IV sedation.

After 5 years of training and practical experience, in 2002 she began her professional work at two dental offices. In 2005 she opened her private practice in Plano, off Preston Road. The mark of her practice is quality workmanship and conservative care for the long term benefit for the patient. Dr. Wang fiercely defends her patients long term health by providing patient appropriate diagnosis.

During that time period, in addition to practicing dentistry, Dr. Wang also taught fourth-year dental students at Baylor. She enjoys the opportunity to help students learn skills that may not have been taught in dental school, and advocate a patient-centered approach to dentistry with a focus on striving for excellence. In the same spirit of giving back to the community, Dr. Wang took part in a medical mission trip to a remote area of Mexico.

All throughout this period, Dr. Wang found that she liked the endodontic procedures. However her desire for excellence would prevent her from doing even simple procedures when she knew a specialist with valuable additional training would serve the patient needs best.

There are 2 year residency programs or 3 year programs for endodontics. After 4 years of dental school and 1 year of GPR, 3 years of Corporate Dental, and 5 years of Private Practice, Dr. Wang selected a 3 year residency program at UCSF to further hone her skills. There she met many residents that were fresh out of Dental School with no experience. In giving up private practice and becoming a student, Dr. Wangs drive and determination helped her excel in her residency program. In addition she gained many mentors from the highest echelons of endodontics because they recognized her skillset competency.

She believes that your natural teeth are the best teeth. While it is easy for any dentist to pull a tooth, put in an implant and crown, a specialist like an Endodontists saves the natural tooth.Dr. Wang is proud of her heritage, born in Seoul, Korea to a family originally from Shangdong, China. She and her family moved to Dallas when she was eight years old, and she grew up working for a restaurant established by her parents, who taught her the value of hard work, and the importance of pursuing an education. She chose dentistry in order to pursue a profession where she could excel, while maintaining a balanced family life. Dr. Wang is fluent in Mandarin and English, and also speaks some Korean.

When she is not treating patients, Dr. Wang enjoys spending time with her family and running. She participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a five-kilometer race for Breast Cancer in 2008 and completed her full marathon in 2008.