Come visit us at www.rondentist.com

Come visit us at www.rondentist.com

Saturday, October 26, 2013

I HAD A ROOT CANAL - WHY DOES MY TOOTH STILL HURT?

I HAD A ROOT CANAL - WHY DOES MY TOOTH STILL HURT?

I have heard this question many times from new patients coming into the practise or from emergency patients having problems with a tooth.  Of course the answer is never simple and always depends on the circumstances.
When someone has had a root canal treatment the tooth is now altered and may not feel exactly the way it did before.  The questions we must ask:  Is the tooth functional?  Can you eat on it without discomfort?  If you answer yes to both then there is no problem.  If the answer is no then there is a problem and that is what we will deal with in this blog.
Lets start with the simple.  If you just had a root canal yesterday and your tooth is hurting it is most likely some post op discomfort and it will most likely resolve shortly.  You can even get some swelling after the treatment which may need an antibiotic but then will resolve.
What we really want to discuss here is the tooth that had root canal treatment a while ago and you still can't eat on it.  General success of root canal treatment is in the very high range.  If a root canal treatment does not succeed there can be a number of reasons which in general amounts to bacteria still being in the root canal system.  This can happen because there may be an extra canal (or two) which we didn't find.  It can also be because the root canal system is so convoluted that we couldn't clean out the entire root canal system well enough.  Another reason that a root canal may fail is due to a fracture in the tooth which may never have been noticed.
So probably the more important question in all this is what can be done?
This question usually involves a discussion with your dentist because the answer is not always black and white.  If the root canal looks like it was done poorly then you would consider redoing it.  The results could be very good.  If the root canal looks like it was done well then you have to consider the cost benefit of redoing the root canal or apical surgery (all in an attempt to stop bacterial leakage into the surrounding tissues) versus extraction and implant placement. I have simplified things but as I said earlier this will involve a discussion between you and your dentist as to the proper course of action depending on your individual circumstances.

Having fun doing Dentistry in Hamilton Ontario

All the best
Dr. Ron Barzilay
www.rondentist.com

PS you are welcome to follow the blog and leave comments

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

How to make your Dentist HAPPY!

Dentists are just ordinary people and like ordinary people something's make them sad and something's make them happy.  Something's make them angry and something's make them smile.
Why is it important to make your dentist happy?  Well I guess I could tell you that he is the guy holding the needle so it is not a bad idea to make him happy (just kidding) but that is not true.  Your dentist is a professional and even if he is angry he will never hurt you and he will always act for you benefit.  Then why even worry about whether you dentist is happy or not.  I guess it is the same reason we try to make anyone happy.  Because it is the right thing to do!!  But here is a little secret that many people don't know.  If you treat people well then they will treat you well.  If you are nice to your dentist he will be nice to you.  If you don't miss appointments or cancel at the last second he will be more inclined to stay late for your emergency.  If you are just plain nice then the whole office will always bend over backwards for you in just about everything.  No this is not a secret but for some reason (and it is so simple) most people don't know this. 

So what makes a dentist happy you may ask?  Well here are a few things:

Remember your appointments especially if you just booked it yesterday.  Don't be a habitual appointment no show.
Remember to shut off your cellphone when going into treatment.  Nothing worse than the cell phone buzzing throughout treatment.
Brush your teeth!  Next time your dentist asks you why you are not brushing don't say "It's a time thing!"  We know that anyone can find two minutes in the morning and two minutes in the evening, which is much less time than you spend watching TV or checking your Facebook everyday.
Remember to do the treatment that has to get done.  Nothing worse than you showing up a year later with a toothache and now we have to extract the tooth which we told you then was just a small filling.
Nothing is worse than this happening to your child because you didn't book the appointment, better it should happen to you.
Remind your children we have coloring books for coloring and the reception carpet is not part of the coloring book.  Yes we do love children and see so many of them but we just ask them and you to respect our home as you would respect your own.
Oh yes, remember to pay your bill. 

There are more things but I think you get the general idea.
"Remember to treat your dentist, or anyone, as you would like to be treated yourself."

Having fun doing Dentistry in Hamilton Ontario
All the best to everyone.
Dr. Ron Barzilay
www.rondentist.com

If you have a comment let me know and you are more than welcome to follow this blog.