Endodontic treatment part 1: the big issue over a little tissue

This is the first of three articles outlining the cause, diagnosis and treatment of pulpal and periradicular infection. The purpose of these articles is to outline the importance of the dental nurse in this type of treatment, which can be invaluable if embraced by the dentist in the correct spirit. In my practice, we carry out all our treatment with a four-handed technique, using rubber dam which facilitates a more efficient and smoother, less stressful working environment for the team, and particularly the patient.

Figure 1 shows a recently extirpated pulp from an upper incisor from a young man suffering from a pulpitis (inflammation of dental pulp tissue). This condition can be agony, a fact that anybody who has suffered a pulpitis will attest to. I have, and believe me it is agony. There are only two treatment options, extraction or extirpation (root canal therapy (RCT)). Following extirpation there follows the process known as root canal therapy, which will be discussed further in this article.