New Dental Procedure To Replace Root Canal Treatments

The University of Liverpool is currently testing a new dental procedure, one that may provide an alternative solution to infected dentine. The technique is called revascularization, and can be performed in two visits, thus relieving the patients of long and painful root canal treatments. 

MailOnline has recently run an article on this procedure, outlining how it works. During the first visit the tooth will be drilled, and an antibiotic paste will be placed into the tooth. The patient comes back in 2 weeks, during which the dentist will make small incisions in the root of the teeth, drawing blood from the surrounding tissues with a special tool designed for this purpose alone. This laceration will cause the formation of a blood clot. The blood clot will cause new blood vessels to grow, which will cause more oxygen and nutrients to get into the tooth, which will help the dentine heal itself.

The procedure is still in clinical trials, but we do know that blood clots contain growth factors in high concentrations, which will help speed up and intensify the healing process greatly.

Recent studies have been reporting more and more effective techniques yielding better and better results. The folk at Uni Liverpool have conducted a study of 15 patients who were revascularized and 15 who got traditional root canal treatments. Evaluation of the study is currently under way.     

The new procedure, which was discussed at length in MailOnline was assessed by Dr. Hugh Devlin (professor of conservative dentistry at Manchester University) as follows: “This is a fascinating technique, and will surely make ripples in the news. Traditional root canals do destroy bacteria, but it also prevents the formation of new blood vessels.

Image: 1.