Implant NC Cosmetic Charlotte 
             Charlotte NC Cosmetic Porcelain Veneer Implant Dentist

 

Root Canal, Dentist Charlotte NC

---    Dr. Plascyk supplements traditional care with non-traditional
or complementary techniques in the following therapies when treating
his Charlotte, NC area patients: cosmetic therapy, cosmetic porcelain
veneer therapy, dental implant therapy, tooth removal, root canal therapy,
TMJ therapy, crowns and fillings, periodontal (gum ) and routine dentistry. 
He has received much positive feedback from his Charlotte, NC area
patients regarding his therapy and many of his patients have referred
family and friends to him for their dental care.    ---

 

 

 Some people (a definite minority in the general population) feel root canals are bad for the health of the body and that they should never be performed. These people feel that if a tooth needs a root canal, the tooth should be extracted. People with less extreme opinions feel that root canals are acceptable as long as a "biological root canal" is completed. The arguments against root canals include:

  • You cannot eliminate the infection in a root canal completely, and therefore toxins will be released into the body and cause illness.
  • The root canal filling traditionally used is gutta percha (a rubber-like material) that contains toxic metals.
  • Root canals are the only medical procedure where dead tissue is left in the body.

Here is my take on the root canal controversy: First, there is a strong argument to remove a tooth that already had a root canal if it has become re-infected. But if a root canal is needed on a tooth for the first time, I would prefer to do the root canal. The techniques and equipment that we use are far superior to the equipment and techniques used for root canals years ago.

We no longer use manual root canal files for cleaning the canals, but rather computerized hand pieces that more efficiently clean the canals. In previous generations, root canal files where stainless steel. Today they are nickel titanium. These new files are sharper and more flexible. Even with all this new technology, problems remain concerning the tubules in the root canal.

Each root canal of a tooth has a main canal. The wall of the main canal has millions of microscopic tunnels that lead to the outside of the root. Bacteria can remain in these tunnels or tubules after a root canal procedure. We cannot get our files in each one of the tubes, and disinfecting solutions cannot penetrate all the tubules. To help reduce infection in these tubules I use ozonated water and oxygen/ozone gas  in aditional to traditional antimicrobial agents. Ozone is a powerful antimicrobial and since it is a gas; it can better penetrate those tubes. I also apply oxygen/ozone gas on the outside of the root to sandwich the tubes from both sides for better infection reduction.

I still fill my root canals with gutta percha. Gutta percha is a very stable material. It does not break down at a level of any consequence to your health. No matter what material is in your body, if it is not breaking down on a molecular basis at any appreciable rate, it cannot hurt you (chemical stability). Fortunately, most traditional dental materials are extremely chemically stable and are therefore biocompatible.

In addition, gutta percha is inside the canal of the tooth. There is no blood circulation inside a root of a root canal tooth. With no blood circulation, the body cannot interact with the material. Also, before placing the gutta percha in the canal, I apply a sealer. The new sealants in dentistry are calcium-hydroxide based, so they are very biocompatible.

The argument that a root canal tooth is dead and will rot if left in your body is not true. The outside of the tooth is innervated with vital nerves, blood vessels, ligament and healthy cells that allow the tooth to function properly.

I want to make a comment about a filling material that is supposed to replace gutta percha as a more biocompatible material. It used to be called Biocalex and is now called Endocal. (Why the name change?). Endocal is calcium oxide combined with zinc oxide in a solution of ethylene glycol and distilled water. The concept with Endocal is that it is biocompatible, bacterialcidal and it expands in the root canal as it sets. Theoretically, the material will expand into to tubules and kill bacteria. First, there is no evidence showing how effectively it goes into the tubules. Second, Endocal fractures a significant quantity of roots when it expands (J Endo. 200 Mar;30(3):159-62). This results in the tooth having to be extracted. Needless to say I do not offer this root canal material in my office. Finally some dentist will fill root canals with calcium hydroxide as a final root canal filling.  Calcium hydroxide does not harden and washes out of the root so it does not seal the root canal from the body. This will leave the tooth susceptible to re-infection.

 

 

 

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 Paul S. Plascyk, Cosmetic, Porcelain Veneer, Dentist
Charlotte North Carolina, NC Veneers, Implant
Charlotte, North Carolina, NC 28277
 

 

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