Gaining access through a calcified pulp chamber: a clinical challenge

Dental pulp is prone to dystrophic mineralization; this mineralization can be so extensive that the entire root canal system is obliterated. As a result, root canal treatment can become a difficult if not impossible task. This article presents the endodontic management of a tooth with an obliterated pulp chamber and associated with a discharging sinus in a teenage patient. The role of a calcium hydroxide lining to induce mineralization and cause the obliteration of the pulpal space is also discussed.