Thursday, February 28, 2013

Long roots


This is my first post of the year and it's already March! Sorry for not being consistent in updating my blog. Time passes very quickly when one is busy. Now that the New Years are over, I can focus on planning for the rest of the year.

I had to perform this RCT on a very long second mandibular molar. The mesial root is 24mm, which is equivalent to the length of a canine. Not to mention the canals were fine and curved. Quite a difficult task!

The work of an endodontist is somewhat  like a plumber. We clean and shape, negotiate and unblock canals. We work carefully not to obstruct these canals, which may hinder disinfection. Hence, the longer and more curve the canal is, the harder it is to work on.

So, what makes us different from plumbers and technicians? For starters, we are trained for at least five years at a dental school to qualify at doing this plumbing work. What we are really doing here: we are treating a disease and healing a dental condition, our aim is to eliminate infection. We understand the biological basis of treatment we carried out and our work is supported with scientific evidences, based on many decades of researches.

In conclusion, skill and knowledge are two important components that makes a good clinician!