Diagnostic

• Dental Examination
  When a tooth is cracked, the exact location of pain can often be difficult for your dentist to locate. Cracked teeth are caused by tooth injury, dental trauma and general wear and tear like chewing hard foods, and clenching or grinding your teeth. Cracked tooth symptoms may range from erratic pain when chewing to sudden pain when encountering hot or cold temperatures. Often pain may come and go over many months and tooth cracks may not be visible on a routine dental exam or x-ray.
• X-rays
  At both of our endodontic offices in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, we use state-of-the-art digital imaging technology that drastically reduces radiation exposure traditionally associated with film-based dental x-rays. We follow the government’s recommendations of “As Low As Reasonably Attainable” (ALARA) to ensure we can accomplish our procedures while exposing you to as minimal radiation as possible. Because x-rays are necessary during your endodontic treatment, we use an advanced computerized system called digital radiography that produces radiation levels up to 90 percent lower than those of conventional, film-based dental x-rays. These digital images can be optimized, archived, printed, and sent to other members of your dental team including your general dentist or other dental specialists.

Preventive

• Teeth Cleaning
  If you require medication prior to dental cleanings (i.e antibiotics for pre-medication such as heart or joint conditions), please contact your prescribing physician for medication and take them prior to your endodontic visit.
• Fluoride Treatment
• Dental Sealants
  Indirect Pulp Capping – When decay isn’t causing symptoms (like pain), but hasn’t quite made it into the dentin (inner tooth material), we consider indirect pulp capping. Your endodontist will remove the majority of the dedicated tooth, and leave behind a small bit that covers the pulp tissue, adding a sealant and temporary filling to help remineralize the inner tooth material.

Restorative

• Fillings
• Crowns
  When you look at your tooth in the mirror, you see the crown of your tooth. The rest of the tooth – the portion hidden beneath the gum line – is called the root.
• Bridges

Endodontics

• Pulpotomy
  Pulpotomy: Baby teeth end up growing out and being replaced by their adult teeth, but cavities cause a lot of discomfort and should be removed before the bacteria spreads to other healthy teeth. When baby teeth become infected with cavities, we use pulpotomies to restore their infected baby teeth by removing the damaged and infected pulp and treating the remaining pulp with a special medication to avoid further infection before adding a filling or crown to cap it off.
• Root Canal Treatment
  Root Canal Treatment, Sedation Dentistry, and Tooth Repair for Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and the surrounding Colorado areas.
• Apicoectomy
  Apicoectomy: Endodontists remove the apex, or tip, of a tooth’s root if it cannot be saved by normal root canal treatments. Since endodontists still want to save the natural tooth, they make an incision into your gums near the affected tooth’s root to remove the inflamed or infected tissue and clean it out. They also remove the tip of the root and seal it with a small filling before stitching up the gums they cut.

Prosthodontics

• Dentures
  Root canal procedures are used to safely treat and save millions of teeth each year. When your general dentist refers you to our practice, we work to efficiently diagnose the cause of your tooth pain and create a personalized treatment plan. Many times, that includes root canal therapy, commonly known as root canal treatment — an effective, common option that can save your teeth and prevent the time and cost of replacement via dental prosthetics such as implants, bridges, or dentures.

Implants

• Dental Implants
  In accordance with American Dental Association’s 2015 guidelines for patients with prosthetic joint replacements or orthopedic joint implants (i.e. knee, hip, shoulder, etc.), antibiotics are no longer recommended prior to dental procedures in effort to prevent prosthetic joint infection.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

• Oral Surgery
  Our endodontic specialists spent an additional two to three years of training past dental school (about 11 years total) in order to receive their qualifications. Less than 3% of dentists have endodontic training under their certifications, so our endodontists’ specialization in root canals brings a much higher volume of patients requiring oral surgery than other offices, which means we know the best treatment techniques to make your visit comfortable and effective. Our offices specialize in helping save diseased and cracked teeth no matter what the cause.
• Tooth Extractions
  Tiny surface cracks — known as craze lines — are extremely common in adults. These are very shallow cracks, cause no pain and are of no concern beyond appearances. Other types of cracks, though, can require root canal treatment,including fractured cusps, split teeth, and vertical root fractures that expose the inside of the tooth. Over time, cracks can grown, impacting prognosis. If the crack extends below the gum line and is no longer treatable, the tooth cannot be saved and will require dental extraction. Early diagnosis and treatment be an endodontist are key to saving these teeth.

General

• Teeth Whitening
  External cervical resorption affects the area where your tooth meets the gums. This type of resorption is commonly a result of dental trauma, past orthodontic treatment, tooth whitening, or due to an unknown (usually genetic) cause. Treatment depends on severity. If caught early, a minor gum surgical procedure, a root canal procedure, or both can be used to repair your tooth with the goal of tooth retention.
• General Dentistry
  Dr. Bradley Robert Ross received his doctorate in dental medicine from Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine in 2003. While on active duty, he completed a one-year advanced education in general dentistry residency with the US Navy at Naval Station Great Lakes in 2004.