ENDODONTICS AND RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY

Conservative dentistry focuses on restoring more or less extensive areas of dental tissue that have been compromised for various reasons (tooth decay, fractures, loss of dental tissue due to parafunctional habits or incorrect behaviour, as well as abnormalities in the shape and colour of the tooth).

​

 

This branch of dentistry aims to restore the function and appearance of the affected tooth, avoiding root canal treatment or extraction where possible.

​

Tooth decay is one of the main conditions treated using conservative dentistry techniques:

​

1.      The treatment involves cleaning and disinfecting the affected area. Using specialised instruments, the decayed tissue is removed and the tooth is prepared for the damaged tissue to be replaced with a restorative material. The tooth is isolated using a rubber dam to protect the surgical site from saliva and blood and to enable the procedure to be carried out effectively.

​

2.      Once the tooth has been prepared and treated with adhesive materials, the filling stage begins. This procedure restores the missing part of the tooth using resin-based materials.

​

Endodontics is a branch of dentistry that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of the endodontium, that is, the dental pulp contained within the pulp chamber and root canals.

​

Endodontic treatment, also known as root canal treatment or devitalisation, enables the pulp of a tooth affected by infectious inflammation to be treated whilst preserving the tooth within the oral cavity.

​

Endodontic treatment is usually carried out in cases of conditions such as:

• pulpitis (inflammation of the dental pulp);

• granuloma (chronic inflammation of the root apex – that is, the very tip of the tooth root – and the surrounding tissues);

• abscess (an acute infectious and inflammatory process caused by the spread of bacteria beyond the root apex and the host’s inflammatory and immune response).

​

In such cases, as mentioned, endodontic treatment involves the removal of the dental pulp and any bacteria present within the pulp chamber and root canals.