Information for Patients

Questions and Answers

Pain- Will I feel pain during or after the procedure?

A large number of endodontic treatments are carried out to abolish pain which is founded in result of an inflammation or infection of the tooth's pulp. With modern techniques as well as local anesthesia it is possible to treat patients absolutely free of complaints. In connection with the treatment, the tooth may feel a little sore for a few days, especially when pain or an infection were put forward. This can be controlled with light pain-killers or a fitting homeopathic medication if needed. You will get directions from us from case to case which you should follow.

Is further Treatment necessary?

		Because of the often consisting, extensive loss of hard tooth structure endodontically treated teeth are more likely to get fractures then teeth free of cavity. Because of this, teeth of that kind must be rebuilt and supported by a crown or partial crown (1) in the scope of restorative treatment, so that stability, function and esthetics can be restored.
		If not enough tooth structure is left, a post and core (2) might be necessary to provide an dequate retention for the final restauration. Crown (3)

Life Expectancy- What about the long-term prognosis of endodontically treated teeth?

Perfectly endodontically treated teeth can last a lifetime long, providing a correct restorative care, a healthy attachment apparatus, as well as periodic check-ups at the dentist's.

Costs- How high are the costs for an endodontic treatment?

The costs depend on the difficulty and the amount of time needed for the treatment. Usually a detailed estimate is presented before each endodontic procedure so that my patients know exactly how high the costs will be and the part of the reimburcement of the insurance companies can be agreed on. These estimates will not even be overstepped if the treatment shows to be more complicated or time-absorbing than expected. I usually can't orient myself on the fee system of social insurances because of the high above the average quality as well as the difficulty of the treatments. The best-possible care for my patients couldn't be kept. That's why I work on a private basis.

Alternatives- Which alternatives to an endodontic retreatment are there?

As alternatives there are only a surgical procedure or the extraction of the tooth. The lost tooth must be fixed or replaced by a partial denture or an implant to restore the esthetics and the ability to chew respectively to avoid other teeth to move.

Nothing can replace your own tooth, no matter how good the replacemant is done!

Is the injured Tooth a »Focus«?
(Focal infection theory)

Sometimes it is claimed that endodontically treated teeth work as a focus and damage other organs like the liver and kidney or the joints as they spread bacterias or bacterial toxins in the body. The goal of every endodontic treatment is the perfect three-dimensional cleaning, shaping and filling of the whole root canal system. Many studies could prove that endodontically treated teeth can't be dangerous for your body! Only partially cleaned and filled root canals can, because of their pathogene germs, affect the organism. Exactly that is excluded with this technique. In a study in our own office with 100 root canal treatments we could prove, that 6 to 12 months later the teeth that were diagnosed as a focus before the treatment were not diagnosed as a focus after the treatment.

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