Clinical Endodontics 1 Flashcards
What is Endodontology?
Endodontology is concerned with the study of the form, function and health of injuries to and diseases of the dental pulp and periradicular region their prevention and treatment; the principal disease being apical periodontitis, caused by infection
What is Endodontology?
A study of the continuum from the first changes in the pulp right through to development of a periodical abscesss
The study of how treatment intervention can influence this process
Describe a normal healthy pulp
- Pulp horns are equal
2. Theres a good blood and nerve supply
What happens when a carious lesion reaches the dentine ?
- You start getting inflammation in the pulp local to the lesion sight
- Pulp would start laying tertiary dentine
Name the dentine that forms in response to an external stimulus
Tertiary dentine
What effect does inflammation have on the pulp?
Pulp horns begin to shrink as dentine has been laid down
Is the initial inflammation and formation of tertiary dentine irreversible or reversible?
Reversible
It can be cured if the caries is removed
Describe dentinal tubules
Dentinal tubules are filled with fluid and this fluid moves creating a stimulus at the dentine pulp interface
What happens to the pulp if the cause of the carious lesion isn’t removed?
Pulp chamber will get smaller as tertiary dentine is being laid down and Inflammation continues
What happens to the pulp when it gets really inflamed?
As the pulp is encased in hard tissue so as the pulp gets more inflamed it expands increasing the pressure which causes pain
What can happen if inflammation continues and isn’t cured?
The pulpal inflammation becomes irreversible and so whatever we do the pulp will die
How so we establish the difference between reversible and irreversible pulpits in a patient?
Based on the patients symptoms
What are the down falls of using symptoms to establish irreversible and reversible pulpitis
- Patients symptoms and the histology don’t always match
2. Not a precise science
Give some symptoms of irreversible pulpitis
- Long duration, throbbing or aching pain
- Can be relieved by cold
- Very sensitive to hot
- Exacerbated by pressure
- Can be spontaneous
Give some symptoms of reversible pulpitis
- Short duration
- sharp pain
- Sensitive to cold and sweet
- OK with hot
- Pain Only in response to stimulus
How does inflammation cause damage to the pulp tissues?
As inflammation increases the pulp is also decreasing in size there’s less space for the inflamed tissue which causes damage
More pulp tissue is killed
Which nerve fibres are the last to die in the pulp?
The C fibres
Why do patients experience severe pain during irrevesible pulpitis?
A the C fibres are the last to die and they are the fibres that cause dull pain
What does irreversible pulpitis ultimately lead to?
Pulpal necrosis
What is interesting about multi rooted teeth having pulpitis?
One root canal may become necrotic but one may be completely viable
One is it difficult to differentiate between irreversible and reversible pulpitis in must rooted teeth?
As patients may have one healthy and one infected pulp so the patient will present with confused symptoms
What might patient feel when they are suffering from pulpal necrosis and why?
Patients may feel tenderness to being as sensitivity decreases as pulpal necrosis occurs
Give examples of some sensitivity tests we can use to check pulp vitality
- EPT
2. Ethyl chloride
What happens when pulpal necrosis occurs?
The tooth losses its blood and nerve supply and gives a negative response on an EPT
Can you regenerate the pulp after pulpal necrosis has occurred?
No as the pulp has no blood supply
When van pulpal recovery occur very rarely
Pulpal recovery can occur in paediatric cases where you can induce bleeding into the pulp releasing stem cells into the pulp chamber helping the pulp to reform
Is pulpal necrosis a quick process?
No it is a slow continuing process
What happens to bacteria once pulpal necrosis occurs?
Bacteria can thrive in the pulp as it is now dead so can’t defend itself as no blood supply so no immune response
What is essential for periodical disease to progress?
Bacteria
What are the causes of periodical disease?
- Bacteria
- Viruses (rare)
- Fungi (rare)
- Archaea
Give examples of when pulpal exposure can occur without bacterial ingress
- Trauma
2. Iatrogenic damage
How does periapical disease happen?
- Starts off when the dead root is filled with bacteria and they produce toxins
- Toxins leave the root via the apical foramen
- Inflammation occurs at the end of the tooth (similar feeling as a bruise)
What is the first sign of apical inflammation?
Tender tooth
What happens at the apex of the tooth if inflammation continues
Starts to cause damage to the periodontal ligament
Periodontal ligament tissue delves into inflammatory tissue
Name the 4 zones of inflammation of the periodontal ligament
- Infected zone
- Contaminated zone
- Irritated zone (Established inflammation)
- Simulated zone (starting to get inflammation)
What is the disadvantage of having a strong inflammatory response in reaction to bacterial toxins coming out of the apical foramen?
This inflammatory responses damage bacteria AND the host which can lead to bone loss around the end of the tooth
Other than bacteria what is a significant cause of peri apical disease
The bodies host response to bacterial toxins
The bodies host response damages the periodontal ligament causing bone loss
How do we treat reversible pulpitis?
Remove caries to help the pulp recover