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Consultation & Diagnosis

Consultation and Diagnosis

Your dentist has referred you to our office for an endodontic evaluation and possible treatment. We will review your medical and dental history, chief complaint, perform diagnostic tests, and analyze all x-rays. It is sometimes necessary to have additional images taken in order to provide a three dimensional view of the tooth in question.


 
The goals of an endodontic evaluation are: 
 
1. Determine if you are in need of endodontic (root canal) treatment
 

2. Identify the source of the problem.


Patients often experience generalized pain and are unable to identify the problem tooth. Sometimes pain can be felt in an area that is different from the one in which it originates. When the source of pain is different from the site of pain, this is commonly known as referred pain.
 
Differential Diagnosis of Oral Facial Pain
 
Endodontists are trained to differentiate between pain of endodontic origin and non-endodontic pain. Not all oral pain implies that root canal therapy is needed. Even though pain may mimic that of a "toothache", other possible causes of pain may be periodontal abscess, temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, cracked tooth syndrome, sinus infection, myalgia from bruxism (muscle pain from grinding), atypical facial neuralgia, blocked salivary gland, cervical (neck) problems, etc.

In such cases, endodontic treatment is NOT necessary, since it will NOT resolve the problem. A referral to the proper dental or medical professional will be made.

In our office, we use magnification and illumination to assist in diagnosing. In more challenging cases, a surgical microscope may be utilized. It provides enhanced visualization of the endodontic access or surgical area up to 25 times. This is especially beneficial for accurate visualization of complex anatomy cases, for locating root fractures or defects, for root-end surgery, for removal of separated instruments, and for locating canals. In some cases, your endodontist may also request a 3D Imaging be taken to visualize and treat the unique and sometimes intricate disease presented by your individual case.