This work was performed to show how you can save a tooth of dogs who have suffered a tooth fracture.
Materials used where: gutapercha, high velocity hand-piece, staple and cloth, ejector, low velocity hand-piece, 37% orthophosphoric acid, photo cured lamp, burs, apex locator, file, anesthetic. One dog.
A high value German Shepherd, Guatemalan champion who broke the upper right third canine while he was training.
Each tooth is constituted from two parts: the crown and the roots. Inside the mouth we can only see the crown. The root is fixed to the maxillary bone below the gum. Gums are a type of protective skin that reach up to the tooth's neck. Their function is to cover the bone in which they are found. Molars are the teeth found at the back of the mouth. Generally they have two or three roots, when most of the other teeth have only one root. The crown has an extremely hard outer coat called enamel. The inner part is formed from a not so hard material called dentin.
Normally there is one root conduct for each root, but sometimes it has more than one. The pulp chamber and root conducts contain a tissue called pulp. The pulp is a delicate web of thin fibers. It has little arteries, veins and nerves formed from an artery, a vein and a nerve that go through the bone.
Why should we perform endodontic?
1. To eliminate germs and infected pulp from the pulp chamber and from the root conducts.
2. To fill completely the root conduct or conducts and the pulp chamber with a solid obturation material to prevent future problems.
How do you perform endodontic or root canal treatment?
The dentist performs a tooth opening. Then he eliminates the cavity, the destroyed pulp at the pulp chamber and the destroyed pulp at the root conducts.
Conduct instrumentation
A file is used to clean and shape the conducts. Next, the conducts are shaped to receive the obturation material. X rays are a basic help to be certain that the instruments have reached exactly the root's end and have not gone beyond.
Conduct obturation
The obturation material commonly used is gutapercha. The gutapercha is produced in large, thin cones that are progressively tightened and they are called gutapercha points. We insert the first gutapercha point into the conduct with the instrument. It has exactly the same gauge than the last file we used to prepare the end of the conduct. The gutapercha point is inserted firmly until it reaches the end of the conduct, then it is compacted to fill the root conducts.
To conclude, the tooth is filled with a provisional protective cement.
Conclusion
Endodontic saves teeth with infected pulp.