Dental Association Touts Root Canal Treatment
Association vice-president Dr Leenu Maimanuku says public awareness of root canal treatment being a safe and effective alternative to tooth extractions needs to be increased.
Saturday 27 July 2019 | 09:43
Dr Nick Chandler, Professor in Endodontics at the University of Otago, New Zealand.
The number of tooth extractions carried out annually in clinics around the country remains high, so the Fiji Dental Association is touting alternative treatment methods.
One such method being promoted by the association in a bid to help preserve natural teeth is the root canal treatment or endodontics.
A root canal is a treatment used to repair and save a tooth that is badly decayed or becomes infected.
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Association vice-president Dr Leenu Maimanuku says public awareness of root canal treatment being a safe and effective alternative to tooth extractions needs to be increased.
Dr Maimanuku is the chairperson of the organising committee for FDA’s annual conference and says root canal treatment or endodontic treatment will be one of the topics discussed at the conference this year.
“The number of tooth extractions done in many of our clinics remains high, so this treatment option should be considered to retain natural teeth,” she said.
Dr Nick Chandler, Professor in Endodontics at the University of Otago, New Zealand, will provide delegates attending FDA’s 47th Annual Conference with updates on advances in endodontics.
He will talk about new developments in root filling materials and techniques.
Dr Chandler has a PhD from the University of London. He taught at the University of Manchester for five years before joining University of Otago.
He was awarded fellowships from three Royal Surgical Colleges and he has published 120 papers and 75 abstracts in peer-reviewed academic journals.
FDA’s conference will take place from August 3-4 at the Holiday Inn Suva.
Root Canal Treatment
“When teeth are very decayed and sometimes have large fillings the pulp or the nerve may die. This may be painful, but in many cases the patient is not aware of any problem,” Dr Chandler said.
“Bacteria in the root canals may then lead to infection (abscess) in the bone around the tooth.
“When this happens teeth are often extracted, but many teeth can be saved with root canal treatment.”
He added that root canal treatment involved cleaning out the space where the pulp (nerve) was and treating the inside of the canals.
“If the nerve is giving discomfort, it can be removed painlessly, but often it is dead and its remains must be removed,” he said.
“Root canal treatment can be very successful. Any pain will be relieved and abscesses will go away and be replaced by healthy bone.”
Edited by Epineri Vula
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