Many people have a deep-seated fear of root canal (endodontic) treatment. They will say “not as bad as a root canal” – as if it is one of worst human experiences. Such fears are unfounded. In professional hands, root canal treatment is best way to keep your natural teeth and preserve good dental health. By having better information about this treatment, you will understand why it is often called ‘the tooth saver’, says endodontics specialist Dr. Tony Druttman www.londonendo.co.uk

Life doesn’t always play us a fair hand. Most of us try to keep our teeth in reasonable condition because we know that long-term neglect can be painful, both in mouth and pocket. Yet there are occasions when unnoticed changes take place to our teeth. We only become aware of this when we have dental pain or our dentist discovers an underlying problem during a routine inspection. The following advice about root canal treatment will help to put your mind at ease.

A dental microscope allows precise inspection of tooth root

Should anecdotal evidence influence you? Very often patients describe their root canal experiences with terms like “it was very painful” and “I had to go back six times”. That’s unfortunate, but not way things need to be. When carried out correctly, endodontics procedure is no worse than having a normal filling, although it may take a little longer. People often agree to root canal treatment with reluctance, when there seems to be little other choice. In fact it is best solution in cases of substantial dental damage or decay. Advice by a dentist will give you a clearer picture than advice by other patients.

Why do teeth need root treatment? The nerve and blood vessels in tooth (known as ‘dental pulp’) are there to help tooth grow to maturity. They protect against bacteria within body. Bacteria play a defensive role in general mouth area, but can become destructive when they attack body via dental pulp or through gum disease.

In fact, recent research has found a correlation between gum disease and coronary heart disease. Bacteria cause decay in teeth. When decay is deep, it can allow bacteria to invade dental pulp – living tissue inside your teeth. Your dentist removes decay in tooth to protect pulp and to restore function and appearance of tooth. However repeated bacterial attacks can weaken pulp to such an extent that nerve can no longer recover, and so pulp dies.

How do you know if something is wrong? The point is – you don’t always know. Different nerve systems within pulp will cause tooth to respond in different ways. The nerve may die quietly and never cause any symptoms. It may be a chance x-ray that alerts dentist to a problem. Alternatively dying nerve may cause a great deal of pain and be very difficult to locate. When nerve becomes irreversibly damaged, then either pulp or tooth has to be removed.

As her husband, Igor Fedotov--a renown viola player--followed career opportunities, they ended up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where a music professorship opened up at Western Michigan University. Elina hit ground running, converting a charming residence into a laboratory/spa for her therapeutic skin treatments and research.

Elina trained in Moscow in herbology and cosmetic chemistry at a center of natural healing in Moscow specializing in problem skin conditions using herbal therapy. Repulsed by what she found in modern cosmetic ingredient lists, Elina made it her mission to produce effective skin care products using only natural herbs and strictly non-toxic substances.

As her research progressed, Elina discovered liposome encapsulation during her studies in Sweden. Liposomes are microscopic scientifically-created spheroids of fatty acids with water-based solutions inside. These tiny spheres are allowed completely through skin, where water-only solutions, or oil-based substances cannot penetrate. This is because skin has what is known as a "phospholipid" membrane. This kind of barrier uses one of Nature's supreme strategies for protection: oil vs. water. Under a microscope, phospholipids have a tiny water-containing orb, followed by a tail composed of fatty oils, or lipids, pulled together by molecules of phosphorous. These phospholipids line up tail to tail, repelling oil because of their water content, and repelling water because of their oil content. The idea is to put an herbal formula into phospholipid's orb, or "carrier bowl." When skin contact is made, these herbal phospholipids immediately penetrate all layers of skin.

"My products are truly transdermal," cites Elina. "They go through skin into cellular level, and they can really impact collagen. The majority of products on market are not transdermal, and because of that they can't have any serious effect. The skin is a protective organ, protecting you from everything--including cosmetics and skin care. Most products cannot penetrate deep enough. If they can't get below surface there is little effect. The majority of skin problems happen at collagen level. If you don't give support at that level, you don't really get any anti-aging effect."