Why All Endodontists Need the Journal of Endodontics

A great number of people have never heard of endodontics—however, these people almost definitely know about what endodontists do. Endodontics is a sub-specialty of dentistry, one in which the dentists focus on the care and treatment of problems with the pulp and tissues and roots of teeth. Much of the time, endodontists are called upon to perform root canals—one of the most widely feared and dreaded dental procedures. Nearly everyone has heard about root canals, even if they have never heard of endodontics.

Modern advancements and new technologies over the years have been developed that have made performing root canals much less painful. Patients likely don’t hear about these methods until or unless they, themselves, have to go to an endodontists for the procedure. At that point, the endodontist is generally able to calm the patient’s fears by explaining the techniques.

Endodontists keep up with the newest technological advancements through the Journal of Endodontics. This magazine is the official publication of the American Association of Endodontists, so nearly everyone involved in the field of endodontics is interested in receiving it and reading it. The Journal of Endodontics not only keeps endodontists up-to-date about the newest technologies, but it also publishes other studies comparing various tools and materials as well as case studies.

It is extremely helpful for any endodontists to read through the Journal of Endodontics each month when it comes out. Actually, by reading through the scientific articles in this journal, endodontists are really pursuing continuing education in their field of dentistry. This periodical is an excellent source of information regarding everything new (and even anything experimental) to endodontics.

Through reading the case studies in the Journal of Endodontics, endodontists can learn about how new tools actually work for other dentists when used in actual procedures—rather than simply reading the literature accompanying the new tools regarding how the tools work during clinical trials and studies. The same goes for new types of materials. Information gleaned from case studies—meaning information from actual patients—is much more valuable than that acquired from a clinical trial in a laboratory setting.

Articles from the Journal of Endodontics can be found online—if they were from issues from 1999 or later. Subscribers can also search a database of abstracts from the entire library of issues of the Journal of Endodontics, from 1975 to the present. Searching is done by keyword and by year.

Endodontists can also submit their own case studies or research articles to the Journal of Endodontics to possibly be published. This is an exciting prospect for endodontists who enjoy doing research along with practicing dentistry, as it allows them an avenue for getting their research published. Having a research paper published in the Journal of Endodontics is not easy, however—every submission is very carefully reviewed by a board of editors before being accepted. If an endodontist does have his paper accepted, though, it will increase his status among his peers.

Every endodontists should subscribe to and read the Journal of Endodontics. No other periodical will keep a dentist better informed about the field of endodontics.