Page 7 - The Beauty and Sorrow in Endodontics-Chapter 4 - Part 1

2. Provide the patient with a last chance to preserve the tooth, and use this as an

opportunity to educate the patient about the importance of oral hygiene care;
3. A retained tooth can maintain alveolar bone height, and the temporary crown can

be used to test or correct any parafunction that will provide useful information for

future treatments;
4. Even if the diseased tooth is still not salvageable in the end, endodontic

intervention will at least greatly reduce the infection within the alveolar bone, and

create a more suitable environment for future implants;
5. Through ongoing interactions with the patient during recalls, the operator can

accurately grasp the patient’s dental IQ and pave the way for future full mouth
treatment plans; and

6. Treating the patient like your family with the utmost care and building a
relationship with the patient will often lead to more referrals in the future.

The Rise of Dental Implants Once Diminished the Demand for

Endodontic Treatments

Since the 1980s, the rise of dental implant material and technology has made it the
hype of mainstream dental treatments. Treating the complex and variable root canal

system has always been one of the most difficult dental procedures for many dentists
and they often feel like they cannot predict its success (due to the lack of regular

recalls). Therefore, when asked for treatment advice, many will opt for the simpler

treatment and recommend extraction of the tooth with implant replacement. It was a
dark time for endodontists as endodontic treatment was gradually marginalized.

Starting in the 1990s, however, the use of dental microscope with enhanced light
source and image magnification, along with inventions such as ultrasonic devices,

made both surgical and non-surgical endodontic treatments much more predictable. In
st
the 21 century, the constant research and improvements in nickel-titanium (NiTi) files,
development of more and more biocompatible materials, accompanied by the

increased popularity of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), which provides the
exact location of canal orifice and exits and everything in-between, has greatly

improved the success rate of endodontic treatments, making it comparable to dental
implants. In addition, the improvement in overall dental IQ of the public and their

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