Chromatic Alterations during Endodontic Treatment: Prevention and Management

ABSTRACT

The presence of chromatic alterations in the anterior aesthetic zone of dental arches constitutes one of the biggest challenges that troubles an increasing percentage of patients as it has a negative impact on their self-esteem, physical appearance, interpersonal relationships, as well as prestige in the broader social environment. One of the problems that the dentist has to deal with is the diagnosis and management of chromatic alterations. In many cases the latter originate in the false and clumsy treatment during the completion of endodontic treatment. Chromatic alterations can appear after an incomplete opening of the pulp chamber, the combination of irrigating solutions during the chemo-mechanical process, the use of antiseptic medicine among sessions, the use of root canal filling materials in the final stage of endodontic treatment, as well as the use of materials in more recent regenerative techniques.
Knowledge of the properties that materials used during the endodontic treatment hold as well as the dentist’s careful moves constitute essential elements in the prevention of chromatic alterations. Their treatment nowadays is oriented towards conservative treatment techniques. Whitening of endodontically treated teeth is a limited invasive method to improve their color. The materials as well as techniques used to whiten the endodontically treated teeth vary, and the essential criterion for choosing whitening is the absence of clinical and x-ray findings that indicate periapical disease.