Apicoectomy for Richardson Residents
Why would I need Endodontic Surgery?
When non-surgical root canal therapy fails, there may be one more option to preserve your damaged tooth. In other cases, non-surgical treatment may not even be possible to repair a damaged or decayed tooth. When this happens, endodontic surgeries may be recommended. The surgery allows us to locate and repair fractures, cracks, or decay in bent or hidden root canals that may not be visible on x-rays. We may also need to recommend endodontic surgery if the surface of the root is damaged or decayed. We will most often recommend a root-end resection or apicoectomy.
What is an Apicoectomy?
An apicoectomy is the most common endodontic surgery. We start by making an incision in the soft tissue around the affected tooth that will allow us to view the root system of the tooth. We’ll remove any damaged or infected soft tissue as well, and then we remove the tip of the tooth root. Rather than extract damaged inner tooth tissue through the top of the tooth as is done during root canal therapy, we extract damaged tissue and decontaminate the inner parts of the tooth through the root. Then, we refill the removed tissue and recreate the root tip with filling material. Once the tooth is repaired, we suture the soft tissue back in place over the treated tooth. Following apicoectomy, you may notice slight swelling or discomfort around the treatment site for about a week. We encourage you to use over the counter pain relievers and ice packs to control this discomfort. If you are unable to achieve adequate pain relief through these methods, you should give our office a call.
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