There are many forms of endodontic surgery, and each can help save your tooth in different situations.
The most common type of surgical procedure in endodontics is that of a root-end resection or an apicoectomy. Endodontic root-end surgery is indicated if persistent, or new, infection or inflammation develops in the bone around the end of your tooth after previous endodontic treatment.
A root-end resection procedure may be chosen over a retreatment if a retreatment has already been performed on the tooth, if there is anatomy which is unable to be accessed by retreatment, or if after careful evaluation, surgical intervention provides the best long-term prognosis for the tooth.
- For a root-end resection, an incision is made to open the gums. This allows visualization of the bone to remove inflamed or infected tissues around the end of the root(s).
- The end of the root(s) is resected along with the removal of the infected tissue. A retro-preparation is then made into the existing filling material at the end of the resected root. A biocompatible filling material is then placed to seal the end of the root canal.
- The gums are then put back into place and closed with sutures. Over time, the bone will heal around the end of the root, a term referred to as osseous healing.
Other types of endodontic surgery completed:
Other types of surgeries are performed to repair a root, remove a root in its entirety (root amputation), treat certain resorptive defects, or for the purposes of diagnosis.