Endodontics Resident University of Alabama of Dentistry at UAB Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Personalized endodontics is currently used in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment planning for endodontic patients. Technological advances have enabled personalized approaches in guided non-surgical and surgical endodontic treatment. Recent studies have shown that disease progression, as well as treatment outcomes in the management of apical periodontitis, may be related to specific genetic and epigenetic factors. The same endodontic etiologic factors often result in different host responses. For example, similarly sized carious lesions may be associated with vital pulp in some patients and pulp necrosis with periapical lesions in others. Studies have begun to identify certain genetic polymorphisms in cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases that may play a role in a patient’s susceptibility to periapical tissue destruction in these deep carious lesions. This table clinic will expand on these topics. Personalized medicine has already been used in cancer by identifying tumors diagnosed by tissue type and utilizing biotypes for prognosis. The goal of personalized medicine is to provide optimal treatment to further individualize patient care.
