07/08/2025
Practical Insights for Clinicians
From this experience, here are five practical clinical tips for clinicians:
When symptoms don’t follow the script, stop and re-evaluate. Pain that doesn’t respond to properly rendered treatment deserves deeper investigation.
CBCT is valuable, but doesn’t replace clinical judgment. Radiographic features may suggest non-endodontic origin, but symptoms often provide the first clues.
Trismus, dysphagia, and bilateral ear pain in an “endo case” should raise concern. These are atypical signs that merit a broader differential diagnosis.
Always consider biopsy when treating periapical lesions surgically. Even if malignancy is low on your list, histopathology can catch the unexpected.
We, endodontists, are sentinels of diagnosis, not just technicians. Our role often places us at the first point of contact for serious conditions that mimic dental disease.
By Ji Wook Jeong, DDS, MS As endodontists, we are trained to diagnose and differentiate complex orofacial pain and periapical disease with precision. But every so often, a case reminds…
