Endodontic specialist - Pearland, Texas
Dr. Kevin K. Sameti, DDS
An endodontist treats the inside of the tooth and nothing else. That narrow focus is the whole point: the anatomy is small, frequently unusual, and rewards someone who works on it every day rather than occasionally.
- Specialty
- Endodontics only
- Dental degree
- DDS, UTHealth Houston
- Specialty training
- Temple University
Training
The path behind the specialty
Endodontics is not a course a dentist takes at a weekend seminar. It is a separate accredited qualification that follows a full dental degree.
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01
University of Houston
Bachelor of Science in biology with a minor in chemistry. Dr. Sameti has lived in Houston since his early teens, and the practice he runs today is about twenty minutes from where he grew up.
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02
UTHealth Houston
Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He received the endodontic department award, which is given to one member of each graduating dental class each year.
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03
Temple University, Philadelphia
Certificate in endodontics through postgraduate study, with an emphasis on teaching and on research.
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04
Licensure
Licensed to practise in Texas, Pennsylvania and California.
Still teaching, on purpose
Dr. Sameti serves as a volunteer clinical assistant professor in the Department of Endodontics at UTHealth Houston, where he teaches root canal treatment to dental students.
Teaching has a way of keeping a clinician honest. Explaining why a canal is approached one way and not another, to someone who will ask why, is a different discipline from simply doing it from habit. It is also how techniques that have quietly gone out of date get noticed.
Alongside that he attends continuing education programmes and courses as a matter of routine, which is how the equipment and the methods in this practice stay current rather than settling at whatever was standard the year he qualified.
Professional standing
Memberships and affiliations
Specialist membership of the American Association of Endodontists is restricted to clinicians who have completed accredited postgraduate training in the specialty.
- Specialist member, American Association of Endodontists
- Member, American Dental Association
- Member, Texas Dental Association
- Member, Greater Houston Dental Society
- Volunteer clinical assistant professor, Department of Endodontics, UTHealth Houston
Questions patients ask
Seeing a specialist
What is the difference between an endodontist and my dentist?
Both are dentists. An endodontist has completed two or more additional years of accredited postgraduate training devoted to the inside of the tooth, and performs those procedures every working day. General dentists handle a much broader range of work, of which root canals are a small part.
Do I need a referral to see Dr. Sameti?
No. A referral is helpful because it brings your dentist's notes and X-rays with it, but you are welcome to contact the practice directly, and many patients do.
Will Dr. Sameti carry out the treatment himself?
Yes. Your diagnosis and your treatment are both performed by Dr. Sameti. This is a single-specialist practice, so the clinician who examines the tooth and explains the plan is the one who carries it out, and the one you speak to afterwards if anything needs revisiting.
What happens to my regular dentist?
They stay your dentist. This practice treats the inside of the tooth and sends you back with a written recommendation for the final restoration, which your own dentist places. We do not place fillings, fit crowns or clean teeth.
Does the practice treat emergencies?
Time is kept aside each day for patients in acute pain. Call rather than email if a tooth is hurting today.
Talk to the practice
A consultation establishes what is actually happening inside the tooth before anything is decided. Bring any recent X-rays if you have them.