Your first endodontic appointment at our Malden office establishes an essential foundation between you, Dr. Fernandes, Dr. Melito, and Dr. Sharma, and our endodontic staff. It involves completing paperwork, discussing your condition, and may include treatment.
Paperwork
The first visit begins with obtaining important contact, insurance, and medical history information. There is paperwork to complete in the form of a medical history, and various consent forms. In addition, we ask that you bring a list of all the medications you take on a regular basis, whether prescriptions or over-the-counter, you are taking with you. Further, if you have a referral document or X-rays that your primary dentist gave to you, please bring them with you as well.
Meet with Assistant
Once all the required paperwork is completed, you’ll meet with an assistant who will ask you about your pain and dental issue that prompted a visit to us. The assistant will take a set of X-rays for the endodontist to review.
Meet with the Endodontist
After the x-rays are complete, your endodontist will review them with you, in addition to talking to you about your symptoms. The endodontist will test the affected tooth or teeth, along with adjacent teeth. This will often include mild tapping which patients tolerate well.
Once all of the testing is done, your endodontist will make a diagnosis, and discuss the treatment options with you. These may include a root canal and a crown to protect the treated tooth. As with any treatment, your endodontist will discuss the benefits and risks along with each option.
The goal of endodontics treatment is to:
- Relieve your pain
- Save your tooth
- Protect surrounding teeth and gums from further damage
Endodontic Treatment
If you decide to receive the endodontic treatments, in many cases, the treatment is started that same day. However, prior to beginning the treatment, a local anesthesia is applied to numb your tooth, gums, and nerves to any painful sensations you might otherwise feel without local anesthesia.
While a root canal, which is a common endodontic procedure, has received a bad rap for being extremely painful, the reality is that with modern dental technology and medications, most patients report no significant discomfort during a root canal.
In order to determine the results of the treatment, further X-rays will be taken once the treatment is complete. You will receive post-endodontics treatment instructions and you learn what you might feel or see in your treated area over the next several days to a week. This may include tooth sensitivity and mild swelling in the gums and jaw.
Patients are typically able to drive after their procedure, and go back to work, or resume regular activities immediately following their endodontic treatment.