Hammond Endodontics

Your first appointment with our office is generally a consultation. Make sure to show up for your appointment 10 minutes early to fill out necessary paperwork. To help you fill out these forms properly, remember to bring your insurance card, subscriber information, and a referral from your general dentist. Bring a list of medications you are taking, and any allergies that you may have.

During your consultation, clinical testing will be done on the affected tooth to arrive at a diagnosis. This process starts with a digital x-ray of the tooth. The tooth is then tested for pain to bite, palpation, percussion, cold, and heat sensitivity. The doctor will assess the mobility of the tooth and the health of the surrounding gum tissue. It is highly important NOT TO TAKE PAIN KILLERS PRIOR TO YOUR APPOINTMENT. Taking pain killers will mask your symptoms, therefore making your clinical tests more difficult to assess.

Once a diagnosis is made by the doctor, a personalized treatment plan will be presented, as well as patient financial responsibility. Although rare, not all teeth can be saved by endodontic therapy. Examples of this would be if the root canals were not accessible, the root was vertically fractured, the tooth lacked adequate bone support or the tooth did not have enough structure for the referring dentist to restore.

If the tooth can be endodontically treated, an appointment will be scheduled to begin your root canal therapy.