In this era of dentistry, quality endo will be centre stage

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Posted by: Dental Design 10th July 2022

If you’re a novice dentist, you’ll have had quite the couple of years. The pandemic had a profound impact on education, training, and foundation training. But now you have the opportunity of a lifetime, to shape a successful and fulfilling career which focuses on meeting the challenges ahead.

Perhaps you’ve thought about returning to education when it’s ‘right’ to do so. Yet in this era for dentistry, when the pace of change is accelerating and the need to help patients comprehensively and keep them in good health for life is more urgent than ever, why wait?

Life as a new dentist is about honing the basics and building the foundation for excellence, while planning your next steps. Now that you are seeing patients every day, and learning about what they want, what they think they want and what they need, this knowledge could prove the biggest factor for what you do next.

Exceptional dentistry is patient-focused, conservative and preventative and a brilliant clinician will utilise not only their skills to deliver quality treatment, but also those of the dental team. That is why endodontics is an excellent route to take for continued training and education. Your practice can boost its intake of referred patients, but an often-overlooked advantage of being an endo dentist is that you can bring fellow DCPs with you, on your journey.

Successful root canal therapy requires a multi-professional approach, from the dental nurse who is there to reassure a nervous patient to the dental hygienist or therapist who will motivate them in oral hygiene maintenance, post-treatment. The communication skills you’ll have been developing in those early years will be invaluable here. If we start with your colleagues, some of them may have had ‘mixed’ previous experiences with endodontics – or none. Once you are trained in this area, talk to them about the treatment process, including the techniques, tools, and materials you will use. Some of them might be amazed at how technology and innovation now enable a dentist to use fewer instruments to deliver safe, quality endo, which is also conservative, requiring minimal prep. They may not appreciate how this isn’t just about doing root canals, it’s about ensuring the vitality of pulp and tissue, to avoid further problems. It’s also about learning if a tooth is restorable or not, and that function and aesthetics must be in balance for enduring results.

The dental team is crucial in helping patients feel at ease. One of the biggest barriers to root canal therapy is that people are often too fearful to say ‘yes’. For a nervous patient, being informed is the first step so deal with misinformation while talking about the risks in a clear and accessible way. If the dental nurse joins these appointments and is encouraged, just like your patient, to ask questions, they will boost their own knowledge too.

Good patient communication is a learning curve, as is working effectively as part of the practice team, and the endo treatment process can help you improve at both. Not every clinician is a natural communicator – an individual might feel happier fielding questions at the nurse/treatment coordinator/practice manager for example. When nothing is hidden, and you and your colleagues are working as one, this can be the first step to giving informed consent.

Delivering successful endo will help you get better at treatment planning – plans that get completed and have an enduring result. This includes having an appreciation of tool and material selection. The tools and materials you’ll use to can also help you communicate better and give patients reassurance that this is a highly-conservative option – far more so than an extraction. Commit to only using high-quality products that support success no matter if it’s everyday endo, or a more complex case. COLTENE’s mission is to save dentists of all levels, from novice to experienced clinician, time and money, with innovative solutions. Part of its comprehensive endo range, the CanalPro™ Jeni motor facilitates faster, safer and simpler canal preparation. A digital revolution, it operates like a traffic navigation system in the endo canal, guiding you through different routes and obstacles. It has a range of benefits, from an integrated apex locator to an audible signal to tell you when to irrigate and can also enable four-handed working, ideal when you’re being assisted by a colleague.

If you’re a new dentist who wants to do more, there is a no better time to embark on training to develop specialist and transferable skills. The rewards of being able to offer quality endo are endless – your patient will be out of pain, your practice gets another revenue stream, and you can motivate your team. Personally and professionally, it’s a win-win. As demand for enduring, safe and efficient endo increases, you’ll be ideally placed to help more people return to oral health.

For more on COLTENE, visit www.coltene.com,
email: info.uk@coltene.com or call 0800 254 5115.