What is an Endodontist?

An endodontist is someone who deals with endodontics. So what does that mean?

You can actually work the answer to this question out yourself by looking at the word. ‘Dontics’ tells us that we’re dealing with teeth, whereas ‘endo’ means ‘inside’. The word ‘exoskeleton’ means a skeleton that is outside the body (as is the case for a crustacean), whereas an ‘endoskeleton’ is a skeleton that’s inside – as is the case for humans. Or you could put it this way: exoskeleton = Iron Man, endoskeleton = Wolverine…

So this tells us that an endodontist must be someone who deals with the ‘inside’ of the tooth. This takes us to the dental pulp which is in the center of the root canal system and which is sensitive to infection and other problems. The exterior of your tooth can get chipped or damaged but it can’t get an infection as it is just bone. The interior on the other hand is made of soft tissue and can become infected. Usually this follows on from tooth decay, leaky fillings or direct trauma to the teeth.

An endodontist then is someone who deals with these infections of the pulp inside the root canal. Most often this will mean carrying out root canal treatments – sometimes referred to simply as ‘root canals’. Here the bacteria is removed by emptying out the infected tissue from the root canal. Afterwards the canal will be filed and the tooth will be sealed either with a filling or with a crown. The inflamed end of the tissue should heal on its own.

Normally this procedure is carried out under local anesthetic – meaning that you’re going to be awake but won’t feel any pain. It’s not a nice thought perhaps but it’s always preferable to losing a tooth!