I am having a really bad month with my teeth.  I found out that I need to get all four wisdom teeth pulled- have an apt with an oral surgeon on may 10.  I had an old filling removed and refilled last week and this caused unbelievable pain. I went back to the dentist- got a rx for penicillan and pain killers. I was told that I needed an endodontist for a root canal.  There are no endodontists in my plan around here... Is this the only type of dentist that can do a root canal????
Thanks
K
 
update
Well, I made my way to sucasanna for an endodontist on Friday- Thanks for all the help.
 

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All general dentists are trained to do Root Canals.  Perhaps your dentists comfort level with Root Canals is not up to par or he doesn't "get paid" enough by your insurance company for it to warrant his or her time.  Sometimes a Root Canal can be "tricky" due to curved roots, pulp stones, etc and that can be determined by xray, in which case a referral would be warranted.  I know dentists who don't do them and you are better off seeing another dentist or endodontist who is more proficient in them than requesting your dentist do it.  Unfortunately I don't know who is in your plan or who to recommend in the area.  We do most of our own Root Canals and the ones we need to refer out are referred to a town off 287 north in NJ.

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I agee with Winebrat's answer.  Sometimes it's tough to tell why a dentist has referred to an Endodontist because there can be many reasons. 

Our office does many root canals (endodontic treatment) but there are times when we refer out, mainly for those "tricky" teeth as Winebrat put it.

Without seeing the tooth and a film (x-ray) it's difficult to say if it's one we could do in office.

It sounds like finding somone who accepts your plan is important to you.  You can call our office manager to see if we are: (570) 839-8065.

Many endodontists, and specialists in general, do not participate with plans but will accept benefits from the plan with you making up the remainder of the fee.  Although most people don't want to make up that remainer themselves, sometimes it is in their best interest to find a way and see the specialist.