Dental treatment: methods, types, where to start therapy

People turn to the dentist when they have any problems with the health of their teeth or gums. Pain in the tooth, swelling of the gums, increased sensitivity of the teeth, bad breath - all these phenomena can appear against the background of various dental diseases and, based on the nature of the disease, the specialist selects the optimal method of dental treatment.

Whatever method of dental treatment is chosen, its main task will be to preserve all the functions and aesthetics of the tooth. Below we will look at a variety of dental treatment methods that are used in modern dentistry and will also talk about complications that can occur when errors in treatment procedures were made by the doctor.

Methods and timing of modern treatment of dental diseases

Dental treatment in modern dental clinics is a whole series of special measures to stop the development of the inflammatory process, restore all useful functions, as well as the aesthetics of the dental unit. Most often, patients turn to dentists for the treatment of dental caries, which occurs in people of all ages and in a variety of forms - from the spot stage to deep caries, when the destruction of a unit has reached almost to the root. If caries was not cured on time or its treatment was carried out in violation of the rules, complications such as pulpitis and periodontitis arise. Treatment of these dental diseases is more complex; it is carried out in stages and involves at least 2-3 visits to a specialist’s office. The timing of dental treatment always depends on the complexity of the clinical case. For example, treatment of caries in the spot stage takes place in one visit

dentist, implantation and prosthetics are divided into several stages and the treatment period is maximum - from several months to a year. Do you want dental treatment to always proceed quickly and with a minimum of discomfort? Then attend regular preventive examinations at the dentist, because it has long been known that the best dental treatment is prevention!

Diagnostics

To make a diagnosis, diagnostics are carried out, which include:

external inspection using a mirror;
instrumental examination using a probe;
voicing symptoms (complaints) by the patient;
thermal diagnostics (checking the reaction to cold and hot);
electroodontic diagnostics (testing the reaction to exposure to current);
radiography (performed if the presence of secondary deep caries is suspected or to exclude it).

If upon examination significant damage (destruction) of the tooth crown is detected, expressed by the presence of a deep carious cavity and accompanied by pain during probing, then this confirms the presence of deep caries in the patient.

In the acute form, the carious cavity is filled with light, softened dentin. In chronic deep caries, the walls and bottom of the cavity are filled with a layer of dense pigmented dentin (from brown to black). Percussion of the tooth is not accompanied by pain.

Endodontic dental treatment: when and how is it carried out?

Endodontic dental treatment is used in practice if caries has destroyed the tooth and the inflammatory process has moved into the canals of the dental unit. When carrying out endodontic dental treatment, a specialist treats the canals: cleans the cavities from damaged tissue, rinses them with an antiseptic solution, and applies medicine. Typically, after these procedures, a temporary filling is placed on the tooth, and the patient is sent home to return to the dentist's office in a few days.

At the second visit, an x-ray of the diseased tooth is taken to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. If the inflammation has been stopped, the canals are treated with an antiseptic again, and then their space is filled with gutta-percha. The tooth treatment ends with the final restoration of the crown using a composite filling material.

Endodontic treatment must be carried out with high quality and using specialized modern tools: files that allow the canals to be expanded as needed, a microscope that allows the doctor to see the condition of the tissues and canals, an apex locator that shows the length of the tooth canals.

If root canal treatment is carried out incorrectly, errors are made in its technology - there are risks of serious complications that can lead to the loss of a dental unit.

Cost of services

Treatment of dental canals Price
Treatment of dental canals from 3000 rub.

1-canal tooth (mechanical and medicinal treatment of the canal) 900 rub.

1-canal tooth (canal filling with gutta-percha pins) 750 rub.

2-canal tooth (mechanical and medicinal treatment of canals) RUB 1,500.

2-canal tooth (canal filling with gutta-percha pins) 980 rub.

3-canal tooth (mechanical and medicinal treatment of canals) RUB 2,100.

3-channel tooth (canal filling with gutta-percha pins) RUB 1,300.

Expert of the article you are reading:

Akhmedkhanov Said Rashidovich

Dental surgeon, general dentist, implantologist, orthopedic dentist, dental therapist.

Is it possible to treat teeth without a drill?

Sociological surveys show: almost 80% of people are afraid to visit the dentist due to fear of having their teeth drilled. Not only children, but also adults are afraid of drills. If you are also afraid of the need to drill a tooth for its quality treatment, then it will be useful for you to know the following fact: if you seek dental care in a timely manner during dental treatment, you can completely do without a drill!

Fluoridation

If the examination reveals caries in the stain stage, then dental treatment may involve procedures aimed at remineralizing and strengthening the enamel. Tooth surfaces are covered with special gels containing high concentrations of fluoride and calcium and, of course, this treatment is absolutely painless!

Laser treatment

Another option for dental treatment without drilling is the use of laser radiation with a wavelength of a certain length. The laser beam heats and destroys tissues destroyed by caries, and after treatment it will be enough to rinse the area of manipulation with water. The innovative method of dental treatment has many advantages, including: high efficiency of the method; low risks of complications; additional antibacterial effect. The disadvantages include the fairly high price of laser dental treatment and a wide range of contraindications. It is also worth knowing that dental treatment with laser radiation will be painless only when caries has destroyed only the tooth enamel. If the destruction has reached the deep layers of dentin and pulp, before laser dental treatment, the patient is given anesthesia to eliminate unpleasant painful sensations.

Infiltration treatment method

Dental treatment is carried out using Icon technology, which consists of treating carious cavities with a special polymer composition. The active substances in the composition uncouple and dissolve damaged tissue, the remains of which the doctor removes with an alcohol solution. Then the treated areas of the tooth are dried and treated with a polymer resin that fills micropores in the natural enamel coating of the tooth. The tooth treatment using Icon technology ends with the use of a polymerization lamp, which dries the applied composition. The advantages of this dental technique include: maintaining the integrity of the natural enamel coating for a long time, increasing the strength of tooth enamel; the ability to choose a polymer shade that exactly matches the tone of natural enamel; speed of dental treatment - the entire treatment process takes no more than half an hour; The treatment is painless and does not involve the risk of overheating of the tooth tissue.

Icon dental treatment technology is optimal for treating carious stains in the interdental spaces and is suitable for eliminating caries in children.

Ozone therapy

Another method of treating teeth without drilling is ozone therapy, which involves exposing carious cavities to ozone. The impact is carried out by a special device that converts oxygen into ozone. This gas destroys pathogenic microflora and carious bacteria. After treatment with ozone, the tooth is covered with a special gel and the treatment process ends.

Ozone therapy can be used not only to treat teeth damaged by caries. It is indicated for inflammation of the soft tissues of the oral cavity, inflammatory processes in the dental canals.

ICON scraping - what is it?

This is one of the ways to prevent caries and a surgical method of treatment. The areas of teeth affected by caries are treated with a sealing compound, thus sealing the affected area, preventing caries from developing further.

Infiltration means the seepage of moisture through the tooth enamel, which occurs at the initial stage of the disease. The destruction of enamel begins with the loss of calcium and fluoride, therefore, in the initial stages of caries, remineralization and fluoridation of the enamel is carried out, treating the teeth with fluoride-containing preparations.

The ICON method is used as an alternative treatment for enamel fluoridation. The method is completely painless and gives excellent results.

Features of the dental treatment process under a crown

Installing a crown does not guarantee 100% protection of the tooth from caries and other dental diseases. Some time after the installation of a prosthetic structure in the patient’s oral cavity, phenomena such as subsidence of the gums and exposure of the cervical part of the tooth may be observed. These phenomena create favorable conditions for the development of caries and the risks of developing carious lesions are especially high due to insufficient oral hygiene. Under the crown, not only caries can develop, but also pulpitis and periodontitis, and therefore if you have pain in a tooth on which a crown has been placed, you need to seek professional treatment urgently!

If the diagnosis reveals caries or an inflammatory process under the crown, tooth treatment will involve removing the orthopedic structure and carrying out all the necessary manipulations to stop the inflammation and save the tooth.

Note that caries under the crown often appears because errors were made during the manufacture of the prosthetic structure or during its installation. If the crown is adjacent to natural tissues with insufficient density, pathogenic microflora can easily penetrate under it. For this reason, it is important to choose a good dental clinic for prosthetics, which employs experienced and competent specialists.

Try-on, temporary and permanent fixation of the crown

Before placing a crown on a tooth, it must be tried on. For this purpose, the patient is invited to the clinic. During the fitting, the accuracy of the crown's manufacturing and the tightness of its fit on the stump base are assessed. If the fitting does not reveal manufacturing inaccuracies, the patient does not feel discomfort and is satisfied with the aesthetics of the finished product - a temporary fixation of the crown is performed on the tooth.

What is temporary fixation? This is a kind of “test drive” of the crown. With a crown placed on a temporary basis, the patient will walk for a certain period of time (usually up to 4 weeks). If during this time no defects or inaccuracies are identified in the manufacture of the crowns, the patient comes to the clinic and the crown is placed and fixed with permanent dental cement.

At this point, the crown installation process can be considered complete.

The need for anesthesia before dental treatment

Anesthesia during dental treatment is not always necessary, but only in cases where the destruction has affected the deep layers of dentin. There are nerve endings in the deep layers of tooth tissue, and therefore any manipulation in this area can cause significant pain to the patient. To eliminate discomfort during dental treatment under such circumstances, anesthesia is administered before the start of the treatment process, selected individually. The anesthetic is administered by injection, but there is no need to be afraid of an injection: modern syringes have ultra-thin needles that allow you to administer the medicine quickly and painlessly.

For patients with a high pain threshold, anesthesia can be given not only before dental treatment, but also before such activities as professional cleaning of dental surfaces and whitening. Typically, topical anesthesia is chosen. General anesthesia is used in dental treatment

extremely rarely - mainly before complex and lengthy operations. It is worth knowing that general anesthesia has a number of contraindications and therefore, before choosing this anesthesia technique, the patient must undergo a series of tests.

Specifics of dental treatment in the smile area

The front teeth are included in the so-called smile zone and therefore, when treating them, the aesthetics of the final result of the treatment process is fundamental. To restore an anterior tooth, the dentist must have experience in selecting shades of light-curing composites, recreating the natural shape of the tooth, and all the natural irregularities of its surface.

If the tooth located in the smile area is healthy, but there are aesthetic defects, the use of veneers may be a treatment option. Veneers are miniature plates-onlays that are glued to the surface of the teeth and ideally mask defects such as curvature of teeth, unsightly shape, darkening of the enamel, and interdental spaces. If a tooth is destroyed by more than fifty percent, restoration with a crown is indicated. A pin that is used by some specialists for severe tooth destruction

Installation is not recommended. A large filling will not withstand the load that is inevitable during chewing processes and will fall out or break off, along with part of the tooth. If the root part is affected when the filling is broken, the tooth will have to be removed. In the area of the front teeth, prosthetics made from durable and aesthetic materials are recommended: ceramics, porcelain, zirconium.

Symptoms that may indicate the need for dental treatment

If you are worried about tooth pain, even if it is mild and appears from time to time, this is a clear reason to see a doctor and undergo professional dental treatment. The sooner you contact a specialist, the less likely it is that the treatment will be complex, protracted and painful. The following symptoms may also indicate the need for urgent dental treatment: The appearance of dental hypersensitivity; sharp, unpleasant odor from the mouth (if hygienic procedures for caring for the oral cavity are carried out on an ongoing basis); bleeding, swelling of gum tissue; problems with opening/closing the mouth; the appearance of spots, irregularities on the dental surfaces, and changes in the shade of tooth enamel. Remember that a timely visit to the dentist for tooth treatment is the only way to save the tooth. And your teeth are better than any, the most modern dentures!

How is dental treatment performed in dentistry: an overview of the main stages

Unfortunately, most patients ignore dentists' advice on the importance of regular visits to the doctor and preventive examinations and therefore see a specialist with advanced caries, acute pain, and the presence of many different oral diseases. Therefore, dental treatment will always begin with diagnosis, and will also include the following stages:

Examination and treatment plan

An appointment with a doctor begins with an examination of the oral cavity, as well as prescribing a number of diagnostic tests for the patient. This will allow you to identify all existing dental and oral health problems and create a detailed treatment plan.

Professional sanitation of the oral cavity

It is recommended to begin dental treatment only after high-quality sanitation of the oral cavity, during which all types of plaque are removed from the dental surfaces.

Treatment

If a patient consults a doctor with medium or deep caries, dental treatment cannot be done without drilling. Using a drill, a specialist will remove all tissue damaged by the disease and create a cavity for installing a filling. Pulpitis and periodontitis imply a more complex treatment regimen, which includes canal treatment, antibiotic therapy, and some types of surgical interventions. The treatment method is selected based on the characteristics of the clinical case. The treatment of the tooth ends with the final restoration of its crown using photopolymer filling materials.

Is it possible to cure tooth decay at home?

Treatment of dental caries at home is impossible. However, this disease is preventable. To do this, you should regularly perform oral hygiene using calcium and fluoride toothpaste, visit the dentist twice a year and ensure that your diet contains enough proteins and fewer carbohydrates. For additional protection, you can apply gels to strengthen tooth enamel, which will saturate the teeth with minerals - they are not a cure for caries, but will help reduce the risk of developing the disease.

If it is too late to prevent caries, then herbal compresses and rinsing with strong tea will help temporarily reduce the intensity of pain. You can also press on the area between the lips and nose - there is a point there, the impact of which will send signals to the brain that distract it from the main source of pain. However, instead of diligently practicing traditional healing, it is better to turn to a professional as soon as possible. After all, only he will help you effectively cope with the problem.

Are complications possible after dental treatment, what could they be?

For some time after dental treatment, the patient may be bothered by a slight aching pain, which usually occurs during the process of chewing food. In this case, there is no need to sound the alarm, such pain is not a complication: it is observed after treatment of deep caries due to the pressure of the filling on the pulp and will go away in a few days without taking any medications, on its own.

But if the tooth hurts severely and the discomfort does not disappear after taking painkillers, you should go to the doctor urgently! This symptom indicates the preservation and continuation of the active development of the inflammatory process in the tooth. Usually the cause of such a complication is poor quality of primary dental treatment. At Uni Dent dentistry in St. Petersburg you can undergo dental treatment of any complexity.

Our clinic offers patients modern dental treatment methods, innovative equipment, sensitive and experienced staff, and doctors who regularly improve their qualifications abroad. Trust the health of your teeth to professionals - come to Uni Dent dentistry in St. Petersburg!