Many years ago dentists only had novocaine to put their patient's teeth to sleep. The chemical name for Novocaine is lidocaine. Some patient just don't get completely numb with lidocaine.

          Today we have lots and lots of different anaesthetics that work differently. Most patients can be fully numb while having their root canal treatment. It's important to let your dentist know if you have a history of not getting fully numb with lidocaine. There are alternatives today.

          Titanium is a metal that NASA uses to make spacecraft and the Soviets used titanium to make nuclear submarines. It's a special metal that is stronger than steel and is very light. Titanium is also extremely flexible. It can bend into very unusual shapes and return to it's original shape without any permanent distortion.

          One of the major problems of the old stainless steel root canal files was that they could not always bend to the shapes of all root canals. The old files would sometimes cut their own pathway out of the sides of teeth. The result was often a lost tooth.

          Titanium files easily bend to the strange shapes of root canals. They are really strong and don't break as easily as the old stainless steel root canal files.

          Sonar was invented during World War II to find and destroy Nazi submarines. A similar technology is currently being used to find the open ends of root canals. Year ago a dentist used the tooth's x-ray to decide where to end the root canal filling. This was sometimes a major problem and the filling material went out of the tooth. Sometimes the filling material would not go far enough and a cave was created for bacteria to live and grow in.

          Today, finding where the end of the canal is much simpler. A sound wave is passed though the canal and the apex locator listens for the sound that bounces back off the sides of the canal. The sound changes when you get to the end of the tooth. This change in sound tells the dentist where to end the filling material. The end of root canal is called the apex.

          Regular dental handpieces turn using compressed air. New types of motor driven handpieces are much stronger than regular air driven handpieces. These new handpieces can be used to turn dental instruments with a lot more force and a lot more control.

          Root canals can be more easily shaped using high torque handpieces.

          Gutta percha is a rubber material that is commonly used to fill a root canal after the dentist has shape the canal. Years ago several pieces of gutta percha were pressed together to fill a canal. This was done at room temperature.

          Instruments are available today that heat up while they press the gutta percha sticks together. The heat helps fuse the gutta percha pieces together and seals the canal extremely well.

          In addition to the fused gutta percha, the dentist uses a sealer to seal up any irregularities in the walls of the root canal. Years ago many of the sealers used irritated the surrounding bone if this material got out of the end of the tooth. Today, many non allergenic sealers have been invented that will not irritate the bone if some of the sealer gets out of the tooth. In fact, the dentist wants some of this bio-compatible sealer to completely seal the end of the tooth and around the tooth apex.  

          If you are having dental problems and would like to consult with Dr. Smith, please call and make an appointment at 404-874-7428.