Endodontics
Endodontics deals with the inside of the tooth: the soft pulp and the tissue around the roots. The whole point of it is saving your natural tooth, because nothing artificial works quite as well as the one you already have.
Endodontics in Northridge, CA
Every tooth has soft tissue inside it called the pulp, containing the nerve and blood supply. When that tissue becomes infected or damaged, endodontic treatment removes the problem while leaving the tooth itself in place. Done well, the tooth carries on functioning as though nothing happened.
Treatments we provide
Root canal therapy
Removes infected or inflamed pulp from inside the tooth, relieving the pain and sealing the canal against further infection.
About root canal therapyEndodontic surgery
Treats infection at the root tip that a standard root canal cannot reach, usually through a procedure called an apicoectomy.
About endodontic surgeryAfter dental trauma
Specialised procedures to save teeth that have been knocked, cracked, or displaced by an injury.
About emergency careWhen to see an endodontist
Come in if you have tooth pain or sensitivity that lingers, you suspect a cracked tooth, you have had an injury to a tooth, or another dentist has recommended root canal therapy. The sooner it is assessed, the more likely the tooth can be saved.
Handled here, not referred out
Dr. Ali Vaziri, DDS provides endodontic care at Northridge Dental Group, so you are not sent to an unfamiliar practice at the point when you are already in pain. Diagnosis, treatment, and any follow-up crown work all happen in the same office.
What endodontic treatment involves
Two short explanations of what happens and why it saves the tooth.
About endodontic treatment
More on root canal therapy
Three common myths about root canals
Root canal therapy has a reputation it no longer deserves.
Root canals are painful
Decades ago this may have been somewhat true, but with modern technology and anesthetics, you will not experience any more discomfort than having a cavity filled. The pain from a severe toothache comes from damaged tissue inside the tooth, and that pain is eliminated when an endodontist removes the damaged tissue. Endodontists are also pain management experts, and in most cases the procedure is quick and virtually painless.
Root canal treatment causes illness
Claims that root canal treatment increases your chances of becoming ill or contracting a disease later are not true. That claim traces back to poorly designed research conducted nearly a century ago, long before modern medicine could trace the causes of many diseases, and it has long since been debunked. There is no valid scientific evidence linking root canal therapy to disease elsewhere in the body.
It is better to pull a tooth than have a root canal
Saving your natural teeth is almost always the better option, because nothing artificial fully replaces the look or function of a natural tooth. A root canal is a single treatment that preserves your tooth's structure and restores its function, and it has an extremely high success rate. Treated teeth can last a lifetime with proper care. Extraction is riskier, often more painful, and requires a longer healing time. You would also need to replace the missing tooth afterward, which means more treatment and often involves altering healthy teeth nearby.
Frequently asked questions about endodontics
A dentist who has completed an additional two to three years of training beyond dental school, specialising in treating the pulp and tissue inside the tooth. That extra training is what allows these procedures to be done predictably and comfortably.
If you have tooth pain or lingering sensitivity, suspect a cracked tooth, have had an injury to a tooth, or your dentist has recommended root canal therapy. Sooner is better, since infection inside a tooth does not resolve on its own.
Mainly root canal therapy and endodontic surgery, plus procedures to save teeth after a traumatic injury. All of them share the same goal of keeping the natural tooth in place.
No. Dr. Vaziri practises here at Northridge Dental Group, so if you need endodontic care it is handled in the same office by a team that already has your records. If another practice has referred you to us, we are happy to see you.
Tooth pain that will not settle? Get it looked at.
Keep the tooth you have
If a dentist has recommended a root canal, or you have pain that will not settle, book an appointment and we will tell you exactly what is going on.