By: Dr. Sonia Chopra The saying goes “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” And in dentistry I say, “Don’t judge a tooth by its x-ray.”  Also, don’t assume the worst — give things a chancroot e.  That’s how I practice endodontics. I never say “never”, and I always give teeth a chance. I won’t…

By Dr. Sonia Chopra I have a story to share with you about a young boy who knocked out (avulsed) his front tooth when playing with a friend. When the tooth injury happened his mom was frantic and couldn’t find a dentist who could help them immediately.

By Dr. Sonia Chopra My patient, a 28 year old woman, came to me for a second opinion. Her tooth had been previously treated with a root canal, and now she was having pain when she bit down. She’d already been to another endodontist, and they had told her that there was nothing that could…

This is a great example of how the cone beam machine can help us with diagnosis. A 55-year-old male presented for an evaluation of the upper left quadrant. His chief complaint is a vague, dull ache in the area. He has some tenderness when he pushes on his cheek around these teeth. Standard radiographs were…

The Patient: A 46-year-old male patient was referred to our practice to evaluate tooth #9 (central incisor). There was a history of trauma about 10 years prior. He fell off his bike and hit his face on the ground and suffered abrasion and bruising only.

The Problem: The patient had no history of pain, however, upon evaluation his general dentist noticed something suspicious on his x-ray and he was referred to our office. The clinical evaluation was insignificant, there was no pain to temperature or tapping. Thorough discussion with the patient revealed the true dental history of tooth #14.

This Cone Beam Case Study is a recent patient who presented to our office with an infection after a previous root canal treatment. Follow her journey through diagnosis and treatment with Ballantyne Endodontics.