Category: Blog

Downtown Dental Specialty is dedicated to providing the highest level of dental care for patients with a variety of health backgrounds and medical needs. For diabetic patients, endodontic treatment can be particularly beneficial, as it helps control oral infections that can have serious consequences on their overall systemic health.

What is Endodontics?

Endodontics is a branch of dental care that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of the nerve tissues inside a tooth. This usually includes root canal therapy, which is a common endodontic treatment for patients with infected or inflamed dental pulp/nerve. Most dental professionals refer to root canals as “endodontic therapy.”

During a root canal, the infected or inflamed nerve tissue is removed, and the now-hollow root canal chamber is cleaned and sealed to prevent recurring bacterial infection. This can be a highly effective treatment for patients with dental abscesses or non-vital teeth that have suffered from a traumatic injury. In most cases, root canals are one of the last lines of defense for preserving a natural tooth.

Planning Endodontic Treatment for Diabetic Patients

For diabetic patients, it’s especially important to plan endodontic or other dental treatment carefully. Diabetes can affect oral health in a number of ways, including impairing the immune system and increasing the risk of infections. In addition, high blood sugar levels can create an environment that is conducive to bacterial growth, increasing the severity of any active dental abscesses.

How Endodontic Treatment Helps Control Diabetic Oral Infections

Fortunately, endodontic treatment can help control oral infections like abscesses and reduce the risk of serious complications. By removing the infected, inflamed, or dying nerve, root canal treatment will eliminate the source of the infection and prevent bacteria or pus from spreading to other parts of the mouth and face. This can be especially important for diabetic patients, who may be more susceptible to infections and typically have a harder time fighting them off.

Benefits of Endodontic Care for Diabetics

In addition to helping control oral infections, endodontic care can have a number of other benefits for diabetic patients. For example, by eliminating pain and discomfort caused by dental abscesses, endodontic treatment and similar therapies (such as periodontal treatments) can help patients maintain a healthy diet and manage their blood sugar levels more effectively. This can be particularly important for patients with type 2 diabetes, who may be able to control their blood sugar levels through diet and exercise alone.

Endodontic care can also help prevent the need for more invasive dental procedures, such as tooth extraction or dental implants after tooth loss. By preserving natural teeth, endodontic treatment in San Diego can help diabetic patients maintain good oral health and reduce the risk of complications that can arise from more invasive procedures.

Risks of Untreated Dental Abscesses

For diabetic patients, untreated dental abscesses can be particularly dangerous. In addition to causing pain and discomfort, these abscesses can spread to other parts of the body and increase the risk of serious complications in some scenarios, such as sepsis. In addition, dental abscesses can interfere with blood sugar control, making it more difficult for diabetic patients to manage their condition effectively. The same can be said for other co-existing oral diseases, like periodontitis.

Let Your Dentist Know if You Have Diabetes

If you have diabetes, it’s important to let our San Diego dentist know before any dental procedures are performed. This can help the team at Downtown Dental Specialty plan treatment more effectively and take steps to minimize the risk of complications. For example, we may recommend taking antibiotics before and after endodontic treatment to help prevent infection. Or make changes to the schedule to see you at a specific time of the day.

In addition, it’s important to work closely with both your primary care physician and dentist to manage your diabetes effectively. This may involve scheduling regular check-ups to monitor your blood sugar levels, as well as working with a dietitian to develop a healthy eating plan that supports good oral health. We’ll also discuss a modified oral hygiene routine to help you lower your risk of recurring oral disease.

Gentle Endodontic Treatment in San Diego

If you’re a diabetic patient in San Diego in need of endodontic treatment, Downtown Dental Specialty is here to help. Our team of experienced endodontic specialists is dedicated to providing gentle, compassionate care that is tailored to your unique smile. Call us today to reserve an appointment!

If you’ve been told by your dentist that you need a root canal, you may be feeling anxious about the procedure. However, advancements in endodontic technology have made this treatment more efficient, effective, and comfortable for patients.

At Downtown Dental Specialty, we understand that a root canal can be a stressful experience for many patients. That’s why we strive to make the procedure as easy and stress-free as possible. Our team is dedicated to providing our patients with the highest quality dental care and ensuring that they leave our office with a healthy, happy smile.

What is a Root Canal?

A root canal, or endodontic treatment, is a dental procedure that’s used to save a damaged or infected tooth. The procedure involves removing the damaged or infected pulp from the inside of the tooth, cleaning the area, and then filling and sealing the tooth. If left untreated, an infected tooth can lead to serious health problems, so it’s important to take care of the issue as soon as possible. Root canals are often one of the last defenses a dentist can use to save your natural tooth.

Symptoms You May Need Endodontic Treatment in San Diego

If you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms, you should contact our office to determine whether or not endodontic treatment is needed:

• Severe toothache pain when chewing or applying pressure
• Prolonged sensitivity or pain to hot or cold temperatures
• Discoloration (darkening) of the tooth
• Swelling and tenderness in the gums
• A recurring blister or pimple on the gums

Getting a Root Canal

During your appointment, we will thoroughly examine your teeth and determine if a root canal is necessary. If a root canal is required, our team will use the latest technology and techniques to perform the procedure quickly and comfortably. After the procedure, you’ll be given instructions on how to care for your teeth and may be prescribed medication to manage any pain or discomfort.

Do Root Canals Hurt?

One of the common concerns of patients who require a root canal is the pain involved in the procedure. However, with the use of modern anesthesia and restorative techniques, most patients experience little to no discomfort during the procedure. While some mild soreness or sensitivity is normal for a few days after any dental procedure, it can usually be managed with over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen. A root canal should not be a painful experience; it’s meant to provide relief from the pain and discomfort of an infected tooth.

Advancements in Endodontic Treatment

While you might hear the myth that root canals are unpleasant, many technological advancements have made the procedure more precise and painless than those of years gone by. Some of the latest advancements include:

1. Digital Radiography: Digital X-rays allow for more accurate and detailed images of the teeth, which can help us to better diagnose and treat any issues.

2. Rotary Endodontics: This technology uses an electric handpiece to perform the root canal, making the process more efficient and comfortable for patients.

3. Electronic Apex Locators: This technology helps dentists more accurately determine the length of the tooth’s root, which can improve the success of the root canal procedure.

4. Laser Technology: Lasers are used to clean and sterilize the root canal, which can reduce the risk of infection and improve the success rate of the procedure.

5. Cone Beam CT Scans: This technology produces 3D images of the teeth and surrounding structures, which can help your dentist better diagnose and treat any issues.

Schedule Your Appointment

If you’re experiencing any symptoms that may indicate you need a root canal or you’ve been putting it off, it’s important to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. At Downtown Dental Specialty in San Diego, CA, our experienced team uses the latest resources available in endodontic technology to provide our patients with the best possible care. Contact us today for more information!

At Downtown Dental Specialty, it’s far more common to see dental emergencies pop up during the holiday season than you might think. Why? Because more of us are indulging in sweets, candies, home-baked treats, and foods that easily cause a toothache or worse.

Experiencing sudden, severe tooth pain or losing a tooth during a holiday game of football can be traumatic and unnerving. On top of the pain you may be experiencing, now you’re faced with the issue of finding an emergency dentist who can see you over Christmas.

Our San Diego dental office has seen this scenario play out every year. In the unfortunate event that you find yourself looking up an emergency dentist near you, we’re happy to accommodate you!

Relief From Toothache Pain

Toothaches are one of the most common dental emergencies during Christmas. Thankfully, there are several things you can do at home to lighten the pain until you are able to see the dentist. Since most toothaches are caused by inflammation or swelling, here are some ways to ease the pain in the meantime:

• Take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication, such as Motrin or ibuprofen as directed.
• Apply a cold compress to the affected side of your face for 20 minutes, rest, and repeat.
• If you can, chew on the opposite side of your mouth.
• To help remove debris and reduce inflammation, rinse with warm salt water several times per day.
• Clean and floss around your gumlines every day, as food could be lodged in areas, leading to additional discomfort or swelling.
• Make “miracle mouthwash” for soft-tissue injuries like rashes, blisters, or trauma.

Most Common Christmas Dental Emergencies

If you’ve broken a tooth or have a tooth that’s fallen out, you must quickly take action to save your smile. Once you find the missing portion of your tooth, place it in a container and cover it with milk, saline, or tap water as soon as possible. Then, call Downtown Dental Specialty to set up an appointment at your earliest opportunity and to find out how to handle your specific dental emergency.

Some of the most common dental emergencies we treat in our San Diego office include:

Toothaches: A terrible toothache can be an indicator of a serious problem. If your toothache is preventing you from eating normally, sleeping, or participating in holiday activities, it’s time to call our office.

Abscessed Teeth: Dental abscesses are a red flag that a tooth’s nerve is dying or has undergone some type of trauma. Even if it doesn’t feel painful, some abscessed teeth are known to expand into adjacent structures and cause severe pain. If endodontic therapy is not performed quickly, you could lose your tooth.

Broken Teeth: Broken or chipped teeth can be extremely sensitive and often need immediate treatment to prevent pain, further decay, infection, or tooth loss.

Tooth Avulsion (Knocked Out Teeth): While it’s not always possible to save a knocked-out tooth, our emergency dentistry team will do everything possible to replace it. If the tooth can be reinserted, a root canal is usually necessary. Otherwise, we’ll discuss replacement options with you.

Broken Fillings: When a filling falls out, teeth are especially prone to fracture and cracking. Our San Diego emergency dentist can repair the filling and limit additional tooth damage.

Denture Repairs: Dropping your partial or full denture in the bathroom can completely ruin your Christmas. Depending on how badly they’re damaged, broken dentures can cause trauma to your mouth and your self-esteem. We offer emergency repairs and adjustments for our denture patients.

Bleeding: Your mouth is highly vascular, and even small injuries can cause major bleeding. If the bleeding does not stop, you may require stitches or immediate medical attention.

Emergency Dentistry Near You (San Diego)

If you need emergency dental care over the holidays, please call our office and follow the prompts. We will contact you to walk you through the steps you need to take until we can see you in person.

Root canals are one of the most misunderstood procedures in dentistry. There are more myths about endodontic treatment (San Diego) than any other service we offer at Downtown Dental Specialty.

How can you tell the difference between fact and fiction when it comes to root canals? These are the most common myths that our San Diego dentists hear and the truth behind them:

MYTH: Root Canal Treatments is Painful

Root canal treatment shouldn’t be any more painful than a regular dental filling. Endodontic treatment relieves tooth pain. It does not cause toothaches to feel worse or last longer. They don’t cause any additional discomfort. How long does a root canal take? Root canals take longer to complete due to the number of tooth roots involved. If you’re worried about your mouth getting sore from keeping it open so long, we can use soft props and numbing medication to ease the discomfort.

Root canals are often thought to be painful. But the truth is that the pain of abscessed teeth comes from putting treatment off for too long. These teeth can be difficult if not impossible to numb with local anesthetic, which is why antibiotics may also be used ahead of time. What happens during a root canal? We numb the tooth and remove the infected nerve. It eliminates the source of your pain altogether.

MYTH: Antibiotics Clear Up Abscessed Teeth

Let’s say our San Diego dentist suggests that you take an antibiotic before your root canal. After you take the medication, your tooth feels fine. Now what? Can you skip the endodontic treatment appointment?

No.

It’s only a matter time before the abscess recurs, even with antibiotics. The antibiotic reduces the extent of infection (which is why your symptoms improve) but it doesn’t heal the source of it, such as a crack or open cavity.

Overuse of antibiotics can result in drug resistance. Plan to have your root canal completed within the ideal timeframe to ensure you’re as comfortable as possible during the procedure.

MYTH: You Don’t Need a Root Canal if Your Tooth Doesn’t Hurt

Abscessed teeth don’t have healthy nerves to transmit painful stimuli like healthy teeth do. That’s why it’s physically possible to have severe decay without ever feeling anything.

Sometimes, a small cavity can cause extreme sensitivity or pain when you’re eating. At other times, they can be completely pain free without any symptoms whatsoever. Abscessed teeth are similar. Root canal treatment should not be determined by your pain level. Rather, it should be based on the extent of infection that is visible on your dental X-rays and during an exam.

MYTH: It’s Better to Pull a Tooth Than Get a Root Canal

You may think that having your tooth removed is the best, most cost-effective, and fastest way to solve all your dental problems. But once a tooth is pulled, it needs to be replaced with a new one. If it isn’t, all other teeth will shift and your bite will change. The bone can also shrink in that area, which can lead to premature aging in your lips, cheeks, and overall facial features.

Our San Diego dentists want to help you maintain your teeth as long as possible. Replacing missing teeth is always an option, but it does bring additional costs with it that you may not have considered.

MYTH: You’re Going to be in Pain After a Root Canal

After a tooth’s nerve has been removed, it is practically impossible for it to feel pain. We will remove the nerves inside of the tooth root. This eliminates the physical transmission of painful stimuli altogether.

Root canals physically leave your tooth with no way to interpret pain. That being said, it’s not unusual to experience some discomfort from at the injection site or simply having your mouth open for a longer amount of time. These problems are temporary and can be remedied with over-the-counter pain medication and warm compresses.

Root Canal Treatment Near You

When it comes to saving a tooth that has abscessed, endodontic treatment (San Diego) can often be the last resort. Fortunately, root canal treatment has never been easier or more painless thanks to modern technology. If you are suffering from a toothache, abscess, or a dying tooth, our San Diego dentists can help. For an appointment, call Downtown Dental Specialty today!

When it comes to prosthodontics, San Diego patients can struggle with major issues like a cracked molar (back tooth.) Cracked molars aren’t uncommon, but you tend to hear about them less often than you do other types of dental emergencies, such as chipped front teeth.

Why Do Teeth Crack?

There are several reasons why a molar may crack or break. Some are preventable with early intervention, while others are not. Here are some of the most common causes that we see in our San Diego practice:

Large, untreated area of tooth decay.

Active cavities continually expand into the surrounding, healthy tooth structure unless they’re treated. While decay may not be painful, it doesn’t mean the cavity isn’t rapidly expanding. As cavities become large, the outer shell of enamel thins out and becomes especially brittle. Until one day, you bite down, and the molar cracks apart entirely.

Older, large amalgam filling that needs to be replaced.

Silver fillings are very useful for filling large cavities or teeth that are difficult to keep dry, such as molars. But over time, fillings may start to leak and pull away from the tooth. This process creates an open margin around the filling where bacteria can seep into the tooth. If the filling isn’t replaced or upgraded to a crown, it’s only a matter of time until the tooth cracks apart around the filling when you bite or chew.

Biting down on something hard.

Perhaps it’s a fork, a tongue piercing, or using your teeth as tools to open something. Biting down on an extremely hard object can easily cause severe tooth fractures or broken dental work.

How to Tell if Your Tooth is Cracked

Sometimes cracked tooth symptoms are extremely obvious, and other times they’re so subtle that it’s hard to tell whether a tooth is cracked or not.

Depending on the extent of damage to your cracked tooth, symptoms may or may not include:

When you visit Downtown Dental Specialty to check on your cracked tooth symptoms, we will take an X-ray and visually examine your tooth. But since some cracks in teeth are invisible to the naked eye, we will also use a special tool to have you bite down on certain points of the suspected tooth. This can help us pinpoint whether there is a hairline fracture somewhere in the tooth or tooth root.

First Steps if You Have a Cracked Molar

If you suspect that you have a cracked molar, it is extremely important not to chew on that side of your mouth. Otherwise, you could inadvertently damage the tooth and cause more tooth structures to break off or crack.

To help manage discomfort, we recommend taking Motrin (ibuprofen) as directed. The anti-inflammatory effects will help ease hypersensitive tooth nerves to reduce pain until you can seek out treatment.

Although it’s an aged analogy, cracked teeth can easily be compared to a “run” in an old pair of nylon stockings. Once it starts, it can easily grow and get out of hand.

Contact our office immediately if you suspect your tooth is cracked.

Cracked Tooth Treatment

The best treatment for cracked teeth will depend on how deep the crack is. If the fracture is limited to the crown (the portion of the tooth above the gums) our specialist may recommend a restorative porcelain crown over the tooth. The restorative crown will protect the compromised tooth and distribute biting pressure evenly, preventing additional breakage.

For cracks that extend deeper into the tooth structure or nerve, root canal therapy may also be required in addition to the crown.

Severe cracks that extend well into the root that cannot be restored are best managed by removing the tooth entirely and replacing it with a dental implant.

Prosthodontics San Diego

Downtown Dental Specialty offers advanced cracked tooth treatment in San Diego. If you’re experiencing cracked tooth symptoms, contact us as soon as possible. We offer advanced prosthodontics (San Diego) to help restore your smile, regardless of how extensive the damage may be.

New patients are always welcome. Contact us today.