Root Canal Surgery/Apicoectomy
Why would I need Endodontic Surgery?
Generally, a root canal is all that is needed to save a tooth with an injured pulp from extraction. However, sometimes this non-surgical procedure will not be sufficient to heal the tooth and Dr. Sahni will recommend surgery. Endodontic surgery can be used to locate fractures or hidden canals that do not appear on x-rays but still manifest discomfort in the tooth. Damaged root surfaces or the surrounding bone may also be treated with this procedure. The most common surgery used to save damaged teeth is an apicoectomy, or root-end resection.
Apicoectomy is a surgical procedure that removes the source of infection from the damaged root surface and surrounding bone. Dr. Sahni will make a small incision in the gum tissue to expose the bone and surrounding inflamed tissue. The tip of the root is then removed, along with all infected and inflamed tissue. A root end filling is placed to seal the root canal system apically and the gum tissue is sutured. Now that the source of infection has been removed, the bone will naturally heal over several months, restoring the tooth to full function.
There may be some discomfort and swelling after endodontic surgery, but Dr. Sahni will provide you with detailed post-operative instructions and any medications required. Please call our office if you have any questions.
Endodontic Presentation
To provide you with a better understanding of endodontic therapy, we have provided the following multimedia presentation. Many common questions pertaining to root canals are discussed.
Having trouble? Please make sure you have the latest version of the Flash browser plugin in order to correctly view this presentation. This software is available as a free download.