Dental symptoms like severe tooth pain, impacted wisdom teeth, and gum inflammation can develop without notice. When you visit your family dentist for treatment, they may mention that you need specialized dental care. The dental field has a range of subspecialties for diagnosing and managing oral conditions. Two of these specialties are oral surgery and endodontics.
Knowing the different dental specialists can help you understand and seek the most appropriate treatment for optimal oral health. In this article, let’s explore the differences between endodontists and oral surgeons.
Endodontics focuses on preventing, diagnosing, and managing issues related to the tooth’s interior or dental pulp. The pulp is the innermost chamber that compromises the tooth’s nerves, connective tissues, and blood vessels. The term “Endodontics” originates from the Greek words “endo,” meaning inside, and “odont,” meaning tooth. Thus, endodontics means inside of the tooth.
An endodontic dentist deals with issues related to the tooth’s pulp. After dental school, endodontists undergo additional two to three years of specialized training in endodontics. Their expertise is focused on performing various dental procedures like complex root canal therapy, root canal retreatments, endodontic surgeries, and dental trauma.
Oral or maxillofacial surgery is any surgical procedure in or around the mouth, jaw, and sinuses. Oral surgeons specialize in preventing and treating various injuries, diseases, and abnormalities in the teeth, gums, jawbone, neck, face, and head.
After dental school, an oral surgeon completes an additional four to six years of specialized training in oral surgery. It allows them to perform minor to complete oral surgical procedures like corrective jaw surgery, impacted wisdom tooth extractions, bone grafting, dental implant surgery, facial trauma surgery, palate repair, and treatment of oral cancer.
While both specialists aim to manage oral issues, they deal with different specialty areas.
Endodontists specialize in diagnosing and treating issues affecting the inside of a tooth (pulp). They focus on saving your tooth and relieving pain. For instance, an endodontist can perform a root canal to remove an infected or inflamed pulp. Eliminating the infection prevents further tooth damage and eliminates any discomfort.
On the other hand, oral surgeons focus on the correction of various oral and facial issues through surgical procedures. For instance, an oral surgeon can help place dental implants to replace missing teeth. Similarly, oral surgeons perform complex tooth extractions like impacted wisdom teeth extractions.
Below are common reasons you may need to visit our endodontic dentist near you:
Some of the reasons why your dentist can refer you to an oral surgeon include:
Do you have untreated dental and oral issues? Contact Jersey Smile to book a consultation with our dentist in Berkeley Heights, NJ, for specialized care.
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