Posts (or dowels) can generally be divided into two main subgroups, depending on how retention is achieved. Active posts derive their primary retention directly from the root dentine by the use of threads. Passive posts on the other hand gain retention as their name suggests by passively seating in close proximity to the post hole walls, and rely primarily on the luting cement for their retention. Each post type can further be subdivided according to its general shape, that is whether it is tapered or parallel sided. In general, active posts are more retentive than passive posts of a similar configuration, and parallel-sided posts are more retentive than tapered posts. Post choice should therefore be dictated by each clinical situation. Continue reading →
When there is a cavity in a tooth, you can have it filled; but what happens if caries has spread deep into your tooth, such that your tooth is infected beyond salvage point? There are several options that you may go for:
A normal tooth will be symptom free and respond normally to pulp vitality test ( a test where the dentist applies small amount of electric current and you will feel a sharp pain if your tooth is alive) Continue reading →
Pulp death and dental abscess.Image taken from http://www.andoverdmd.com/treatment_root_canal.html
Endodontic treatment is a common dental procedure that removes damaged living tissue called “dental pulp” from inside the root canals of a tooth. The pulp contains blood vessels and nerves. It is often referred to as root canal treatment or root canal therapy.
Sometimes, the pulp inside the tooth becomes infected by bacteria or damaged by a traumatic injury to the tooth. However, the most common cause of pulp death is a fractured or cracked tooth and deep tooth cavity which can expose the pulp to the bacteria found in saliva. This can result in inflammation, infection and, eventually, necrosis (pulp death).
Endodontic treatment is also known as root canal treatment. It is a procedure to clean, shape and fill the root canals of a diseased tooth. Our anterior tooth (incisors and cuspid) has one canal normally except for lower anterior teeth whereby they may have two. Bicuspids and molars have more than one canal. Continue reading →