With many patients preferring to maintain their dentition and avoid extraction, general dentists and endodontists can work together to provide evidence-based treatment options for compromised or severely damaged teeth. The American Association of Endodontists (AAE) has put together a fairly comprehensive reference guide to use when faced with a challenging treatment plan. The AAE Treatment Options for the Compromised Tooth: A Decision Guide helps to evaluate a variety of situations using case examples and gives guidance for successful outcomes based on statistical data.
The Guide contains examples of challenging situations such as endodontic-periodontic lesions, external resorption, internal resorption, fractures, perforations, missed anatomy, separated instruments and so on. We encourage our referring dentists to use the Guide to assess all possible endodontic treatment options before recommending extraction of the natural tooth. The Guide gives the referring dentist a quick assessment of the prognosis before making a decision to refer the patient for a consultation appointment with an endodontist.
Download the latest edition of Treatment Options for the Compromised Tooth: A Decision Guide here.