Both oral surgeons and endodontists prioritize caring for the health of your gums, teeth and mouth. Unlike dentists, both oral surgeons and endodontists have completed specialized training in different areas of the dental field. A dentist will typically refer you to either an oral surgeon or endodontist if you are in need of more complex oral health care.

The main difference between an oral surgeon and an endodontist are endodontists focus on saving painful or diseased teeth, which oral surgeons work hand in hand with dentists to provide patients with comprehensive care for complex issues of the mouth and face.

People mainly visit or are referred to an endodontist for one of these reasons:

• Tooth pain
• Tooth sensitivity
• Swollen gums

Many patients who experience these issues can go to an endodontist to receive any of the following treatments:

• Root canal treatment
• Endodontic retreatment
• Endodontic surgery
• Traumatic dental injury treatment
• Dental implants

While a dentist may refer their patients to an oral surgeon if they have oral health issues that may require the following procedures:

• Tooth extraction
• Dental implant placement
• Bone graft
• Sinus lift
• TMJ surgery
• Repairing a lost or damaged tooth

Many dentists may recommend you to an endodontist for oral surgery if you need a specialist for dental work. Most dental problems stem from the root of the tooth and require endodontic therapy.

Endodontics is a branch of specialized dentistry that pertains to the dental pulp and tissues surrounding the roots of a tooth. Endodontic treatment, or root canal treatment, helps to treat the soft pulp tissues inside the tooth.

Endodontists perform routine as well as difficult and complex endodontic procedures including root canal treatment, endodontic surgery and special procedures to save teeth after traumatic dental injuries. Endodontists focus on the practice of specific procedures such as root canals, surgery and trauma. Endodontists have vast knowledge in managing a wide array of complex endodontic problems efficiently.

Endodontists can save your tooth and help you to keep your natural smile, so you can continue to eat your favorite snacks and foods as well as maintain your overall health.

A few other services that our endodontists at Ideal Endodontics offer include:

• Endodontic Retreatment

Retreatment helps to save and heal your tooth

• Apicoectomy

Minor surgery to remove infections that might develop after a root canal

• Cracked Teeth

Repairing cracked teeth

• Traumatic Dental Injuries

Helps to fix the following issues:

• Chipped Teeth
• Fractured Teeth
• Dislodged Teeth
• Teeth that have been knocked-out
• Root Fractures
• Root Canal

Inflamed or infected tissue around the teeth is removed to prevent further complications for the patient

• Tooth Abscess

Pocket of pus in the tissue surrounding your teeth, if the infection gets worse, it will form a pocket of pus. When it does not drain, it forms into an abscess which can become painful, often causing red, swollen and throbbing pain which endodontics can help to treat

Endodontists are a specialized dentist that focus on treating diseases of the dental pulp. They specialize in restoring infected or injured natural teeth back to healthy teeth. The procedures endodontists perform for patients make them quite knowledgeable about reducing and eliminating dental pain.

A few of the main reasons a dentist may refer you to an endodontist can be:

1. Your dentists notices you will need a root canal. These symptoms may include an infected tooth pulp.
2. Your dentist may want an endodontist to examine a previous root canal you may have had followed by any additional dentistry like dental crown on top.
3. You may have a cracked tooth, which can lead to a bacterial infection.
4. You may need an apicoectomy, which is when a previous root canal has failed, and the damaged tooth needs repair which is a fill and seal at the root tip of the tooth from the root end of the tooth (rather than from the crown end of the tooth, as in a typical root canal).

We serve patients from Washington DC, Woodbridge VA, Arlington VA, Lorton VA, Manassas VA, Springfield VA, Alexandria VA, and Silver Spring MD. Looking forward to serve you!