A root canal is one of the most common dental procedures with well over 14 million performed every year.This simple treatment can save your natural teeth and prevent the need for more costly dental implants or bridges.
With the appropriate care, endodontic treatment may allow your tooth to last as long as your other natural teeth. However, a tooth that has received endodontic treatment may fail to heal or pain may continue to exist. Sometimes, the pain may occur months or years after treatment. If so, endodontic retreatment may be needed.
Generally, a root canal is all that is needed to save teeth with injured pulp from extraction. Occasionally, this non-surgical procedure will not be sufficient to heal the tooth and your endodontist will recommend surgery. Endodontic surgery can be used to locate fractures or hidden canals that do not appear on x-rays but still manifest pain in the tooth. Damaged root surfaces or the surrounding bone may also be treated with this procedure. The most common surgery used to save damaged teeth is an apicoectomy or root-end resection.
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.
Cracked teeth demonstrate many types of symptoms, including pain when chewing, temperature sensitivities, or even the release of biting pressure. It is also common for pain to come and go, making it difficult to diagnose the cause of discomfort.
Chewing can cause movement of the cracked pieces of your tooth, and the pulp within the tooth becomes irritated. At the same time, when biting pressure is released, the crack can close quickly, resulting in sharp pain. Eventually, the pulp will become damaged and tooth will consistently hurt, even when you are not chewing. It is possible that cracks can lead to infection of the pulp tissue, which can spread to the bone and gum surrounding the problematic tooth.
Dr. John E. Galsterer D.M.D. was born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan. Upon completing undergraduate studies at MSU, John went south and completed Dental School at the Medical University of South Carolina in 1996. After dental school John worked as an associate general dentist at Indian River Family Dentistry where he practiced for one year. In 1997, John attended The University of Michigan where he completed an Endodontics Residency in 1999.
Since graduation John has focused on his work at Galsterer Endodontics with special attention to pain management and the numbing of his patients to ensure comfortable treatment. John is an active and long time member of The American Association of Endodontists, The American Dental Association and The Michigan Dental Association.