Innovative Dental Care

Hemisection literally means “dividing in two.” The procedure involves cutting a tooth with two roots in half, creating a front half and a back half. It often is done by a periodontist, but any experienced dentist, endodontist or oral surgeon can do the procedure. A hemisection cannot be done on an upper molar for it has three roots. But an India Dental Clinic expert/specialist dentist still could divide an upper molar into three parts (sometimes referred to as trisection), or could remove one or two roots (root resection). Ideally, a tooth needing a hemisection should first receive root canal treatment if that has not already been done. Hemisection is a surgical procedure which may be required in one of the following situations:

• Endodontic Failure of an individual root which cannot be retreated
• Bone Loss around an individual root (periodontal disease)

A hemisection is done when decay or if there is significant bone loss around an individual root due to periodontal (gum) disease extends into the area between the two roots, called the bifurcation. These teeth usually do very well with one less root. Before hemisection, your dentist at India Dental Clinic also will look at your X-rays and examine your teeth to pinpoint the areas of decay and the extent of periodontal disease. Removing the front root of a lower second molar and using it as a bridge anchor (abutment) to replace a missing first molar, prevents the need for a partial denture or dental implant.

Once the roots have been separated at dental center in India, your dentist will evaluate each half of the tooth and its root separately and determine whether they can be restored with crowns. Alternatively, the two halves of the tooth can be restored as individual teeth by placing two separate crowns, one on each root. It is even possible to use individual tooth roots to help support bridges. In some situations, this may require crown lengthening of one or both parts of the tooth and roots. In certain instances, guided tissue regeneration can be used for the bone to grow again in the bifurcation area so a dental implant can be placed at a later date. In many cases, people choose to have the tooth removed and replaced with an implant.

The treatment is possible with many of the general dentists or Endodontist listed as India Dental Clinic subscribing components. If traveling from overseas, you may decide to take a low cost trip in India for treatment and also to enjoy many options of tourism in India.

Root Amputation

Thanks to the rapid change in the food and drinks habits, a large section of Western world population is facing tooth enamel erosion. Indian dentists listed at India Dental Clinic are equally receptive of such patients. The intake of real (natural) fruit juices has been replaced by mass produced juices with various kinds of preservatives and added sugars. Dental erosion can be caused by excessive exposure to acid substances such as fruit juices and fizzy drinks. It is an irreversible condition. Tooth erosion differs from tooth decay. Tooth decay is the progressive loss of tooth enamel by plaque acid attack. Bacteria in the mouth break down sugars into acids which then attack the teeth. The most common teeth affected by dental erosion are the upper front teeth, although all teeth can be affected. Teeth that have been eroded look glassy, can appear short, and have uneven tips that are easily chipped away. Teeth that have been eroded may become sensitive, an increasingly normal complaint at dental clinics in India.

The problem of dental erosion is not as wide spread in the developing countries, but it is also increasing at alarming pace. Dental erosion can have long-term consequences for the general and dental health of affected individuals. The source of acid that causes the erosion is either from an intrinsic source from within the body (e.g. acid from the stomach) or from an extrinsic source from outside the body (e.g. acidic foods, drinks or medicines). Intrinsic causes are vomiting and acid reflux (where acid from the stomach escapes up into the mouth) which can be caused by a hiatus hernia, obesity or certain drugs. Fruit juices and soft drinks, together with foods such as rhubarb and citrus fruits, are examples of extrinsic sources of acid. Once the tooth enamel has eroded no amount of remineralising solutions (mouth rinses) or toothpastes can help. Teeth then become susceptible to bacteria attacks that may lead to dental fillings, gum disease and abscesses in which a patient may end up facing expensive dental treatments in India or elsewhere like root canals, dental crowns and bridges, veneers or even teeth implants if extractions were to be adopted.

Dental erosion patients (victims!) to note:

• Acidic foods and drinks limited only to meal times.
• The consumption per day of acidic foods and drinks to be drastically reduced.
• Choose soft drinks which are proven to pose a negligible risk of tooth erosion.
• Limit yourself to foods and drinks that have no added sugar.
• It is good idea to finish meals with a small piece of cheese or a drink of milk, as tooth care diet.
• Do not brush teeth immediately after having acidic foods or drinks.

Root Canal Treatment in India

Root Canal (Endodontic) Treatment in India is one of the most common dental procedures performed by a trained general dentist or a specialist called Endodontist available at your chosen India Dental Clinic. Root canal treatment procedure is known as endodontic treatment. This dental procedure replaces a tooth’s damaged or infected pulp with a filling. The pulp consists of specialised dental cells, blood vessels, tissue fibres and some nerve fibers located in the hollow space in the central part of the tooth. Damage to the pulp may be caused by untreated dental decay, decay beneath a filling, tooth damage due to trauma, tooth grinding (bruxism) or gum disease. The field of dentistry that deals with the internal tissues of the teeth is known as Endodontics. The RCT procedure is also known as endodontic therapy.

In a situation when the tooth is abscessed, there forms a pus-filled sac at the root of a tooth, causing pain and swelling as may be explained by India dentist at chosen root canal treatment clinic in India. The most frequent cause of pulp death is a cracked tooth or a deep cavity. Bacteria can attack your tooth through a weak filling, a cavity, or a crack. Your pulp becomes infected as bacteria reach the pulp. Ultimately, the bacteria could destroy the pulp. This may lead to infection of the bone as the bacteria escapes through the root openings. An abscess can also cause damage to the bone around the teeth.

The common symptoms most evident of an endodontic disease include:

Swelling of the gum near the affected tooth; loosening of tooth; throbbing tooth pain; Oozing of pus surrounding the affected tooth; sensitivity to hot and cold drinks and foods; constant or intermittent tooth pain.

Without root canal treatment (Endodontic therapy), you are looking at tooth extraction. Success rates for endodontic treatment at dental surgery India are generally good. About 90 to 95 per cent of patients who undergo root canal treatment can expect a functional tooth after the treatment. The treated tooth should last a very long time, provided that you maintain good oral hygiene and generally look after your teeth. Of course, no therapy or replacement will last as well as a healthy tooth.

Though an extraction is cheaper, the space left behind will require an implant or a bridge, which can be relatively expensive than root canal surgery. If you have the choice, it’s always best to keep your original teeth. Tooth replacement with dental implants is a modern way in cosmetic dentistry. Once the tooth is fully formed, nutrition for the tooth comes from the tissues surrounding the root. Therefore, a tooth can function without its pulp and, in the majority of cases, can be kept indefinitely. After endodontic treatment (RCT), the tooth is ‘pulpless’, but it is not a dead tooth.

Root Canal Procedure – Root Canal Surgery

A patient would want to know what does a root canal treatment involves. In earlier days, several visits to the dentists were needed. Now-a-days majority of the cases are completed as single sitting root canal treatment, using local anesthesia. For the over sensitive patients, different forms of sedation dentistry can be followed. Today, a great number of dental offices use the latest in Nickel-titanium rotary instruments to carry out root canal treatment which minimizes the pain as well as time of the procedure. One to three visits to dentists at India Dental Clinic may be needed in many cases. A dentist or Endodontist will remove the diseased pulp during the endodontic surgery. The pulp chamber and root canal(s) of the tooth are then cleaned and sealed.

Apicoectomy is not an often needed procedure as root canals rarely fail. Apicoectomy (apical surgery) literally means the removal of the apex of the root of the tooth. In this procedure the bony area surrounding the end of your tooth is treated, which has become inflamed or infected, following a root canal. This is normally where abnormal root anatomy and extra canals are present. This procedure is also known as a root-end resection. When a root canal fails it is usually due to one of the following reasons :

• When there is unusual and undetectable tooth anatomy
• Small accessory and lateral nerve canals that can not be instrumented
• Cyst formation
• Cracked tooth

Most of the “failures” can be saved in Apicoectomy procedure, by folding back the gum near the tooth, the dental doctor can access the underlying bone and extract the inflamed tissue. At the same time, the very tip of the root is removed and usually replaced with a small plug or filling. During the procedure, the area around the root tip is also cleaned (curettage) to remove any granulation (abnormal healing) tissue and cystic formations. The only exception is of a severely cracked tooth when an extraction is necessary.

Apicoectomy is an in office procedure performed by an Oral Surgeon or Endodontic specialist at India Dental Clinic. Apicoectomy is more difficult to perform in posterior teeth because of difficulty in vision, surgical access and the complexity of multi-rooted

teeth. An endodontist (root canal specialist) or oral surgeon is typically most skilled in this type of procedure. The area is numbed with a local anesthetic and you may have IV sedation to relax you. Pain medication will be prescribed to keep you from experiencing any discomfort. The area may be sore for three to four days.

This is a problem that will not resolve or go away without some intervention. An oral antibiotic is never a satisfactory long term solution either, because the source of infection has not been removed. Apicoectomy surgery is an in-office procedure performed with either local anesthesia, i.v. sedation, or general anesthesia. While many patients prefer to have only a local anesthetic (the administration of numbing medicine to the area being worked on) more often patients/dental tourists choose to be asleep or sedated. That is a decision best left up to the doctor and patient and can be explored more fully during your dental treatment consultation visit to specialist of India Dental Clinic

The gum is reflected (lifted) from an area adjacent to the root area of the tooth. By folding back the gum near the tooth, the doctor can access the underlying bone and extract the inflamed tissue. Access to the root tip is then made by removing the thin bone covering the end of the root. At the same time, the very tip of the root is removed and usually replaced with a small plug or filling. A small part of the root tip is then removed and the remaining root is checked to make sure it is sealed. Apical or Retrofilling (reverse filling) will be required to seal all canals that are found that are not properly sealed. Without proper sealing of all the canals present in a tooth the procedure will not be successful.

in situation when there is infection of the nerve or pulp tissue of a primary or permanent tooth, it needs to be treated to prevent a dental abscess and tooth loss in extraction. The two methods of treating infected dental nerve tissue adopted at India Dental Clinic are the Pulpotomy and Pulpectomy. The ultimate objective of these procedures is to save the tooth, so that it will maintain the integrity and function of the dental arch.

Pulpotomy

The innermost part of the tooth is called the pulp. When the pulp of a primary tooth becomes infected due to deep decay or a crack within the tooth and the infected areas need to be removed, the procedure is called Pulpotomy. The pulp also contains the tooth’s blood vessels, which feed the tooth and keep it alive and healthy. Pulpotomy for primary teeth involves the surgical removal of the entire coronal pulp from the crown (visible portion of the tooth above the gums) leaving intact the vital radicular pulp within the canals. In place of removing the tooth, the pulp is treated which allows the tooth to remain in the mouth until the end of its natural life. The procedure involves removal of dead tissue and placement of medicated materials in the root canal. Following this, a stainless steel crown is placed over the tooth to make it strong. This procedure is usually done on primary teeth (children’s teeth) by a pediatric dentist or an endodontist at India Dental Clinic.

Pulpectomy

The Pulpectomy procedure is also called partial root canal. Pulpectomy refers to a common endodontic procedure in which the dental pulp and root canal are completely removed. This procedure is usually done on primary teeth (children’s teeth) by a pediatric dentist. The ’pulp’ is soft tissue containing the dental nerves inside a tooth and ‘ectomy’ means to cut out. If the decay has progressed into the dental nerve far enough, the tooth will abscess. When this occurs, the tooth will need a Pulpectomy or be removed and a space maintainer placed. An abscessed primary tooth may have no discomfort due to the fact that the bone holding the roots is a spongy bone that is porous. When there is an infection in the primary tooth, the abscess can drain through the bone and gums into the mouth with no pressure buildup. On the other hand, a permanent tooth lies in the dense cortical bone, and if a tooth abscesses there will be a pressure buildup and significant discomfort. The treatment is similar to a root canal therapy on a permanent tooth, but is accomplished in one visit to India Dental Clinic. The nerve chambers of the tooth are cleaned, irrigated, dried, and filled with resorbable paste filler. The tooth is then restored with a composite or stainless steel crown. Most patients initially experience pulpitis for some weeks or months before the pain gets severe. Of course, the best time to treat the problem is early when the discomfort is mild. The only alternative to pulpectomy is tooth extraction which although initially cheaper requires further implementation of a dental implant or a bridge. Extraction could also cause a shift in the surrounding teeth resulting in crooked teeth and eventually possible teeth loss.