Endodontic surgery is a specialized dental procedure used to treat inflammation or infection in the gums and root area of a tooth when a root canal alone is not enough to save it. Teeth usually last people their entire life and play an important role in speaking, eating, and everyday comfort, so preserving a natural tooth whenever possible is important.
Often, getting a root canal is the best and safest option to save a tooth. However, it is not always successful. If you are dealing with a lingering dental infection, ongoing pain, or complications after root canal treatment, this is the stage where endodontic surgery may help prevent tooth loss. Below, you will learn what endodontic surgery is, how it differs from a root canal, when procedures such as an apicoectomy are recommended, and what to expect from treatment and recovery. Taking an endodontic appointment may be the most beneficial next step for your tooth if surgery could be the answer to your problem.
What is Endodontic Surgery and How Does it Differ from Root Canal Treatment?
There are two ways to go about saving teeth you could lose: nonsurgical treatment and surgical endodontic treatment. A root canal is a non-surgical orthodontic treatment procedure that is the first step to treating a damaged tooth.
Your dentist may perform a root canal when the pulp or internal tissues of a tooth are affected by inflammation or infection. Often, this results from tooth decay, trauma, or repeated treatments.
Often, a root canal is not enough to save the tooth. If infection persists after root canal therapy, your dentist or endodontist may recommend surgery. It can effectively treat inflammation and infection when root canal therapy alone is not enough.
What does Surgical Endodontics Involve for Inflamed or Infected Tissue?
There are many different types of endodontic surgery, including root repair, replantation, etc. But apicoectomy remains the most common surgical endodontics performed these days. It is an effective surgical treatment used when a prior root canal procedure or root canal therapy cannot fully resolve the problem, and when infection persists beyond what treatment can address.
Apicoectomy
Among the many dental and endodontic treatments available to save teeth, a root-end resection or apicoectomy remains the most popular. Endodontists usually recommend this endodontic surgery when infection or inflammation caused by trauma or decay occurs on the bony area at the base of a tooth. You might need an apicoectomy after a root canal treatment, which is just one of several specialized oral surgery procedures we offer.
It entails opening the gum near the tooth to reveal the bone beneath it. Dissecting the gum tissue allows an endodontist to eliminate inflamed or infected tissue. Endodontic surgery also involves removing the root tip, or affected root tip, along with damaged gum tissue, and your provider may recommend this instead of other options commonly performed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons.
After this, your oral surgeon may also place a filling to close the area at the end of the root. Then, they will stitch the gums to ensure complete healing. This helps protect the treated tooth and reduce the chance of future infection. The bone heals around the tooth, finally achieving complete restoration.
Who Needs an Endodontic Surgery?
In some cases, a tooth does not properly heal after undergoing root canal treatment. Other times, it becomes infected. An endodontic is the best option to treat inflammation and infection inside the gums.
Other times, calcium deposits can make it hard for non-surgical treatments to treat a root canal effectively, and endodontic surgery may be needed to address complex root canal anatomy or obstructions that prevent effective nonsurgical treatment, requiring more advanced care from a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon. In selected cases, a surgical root canal may be recommended to precisely treat the root tip and save the tooth. Endodontic surgery can then clean and seal the root canal. You might also need an apicoectomy if your root surfaces or surrounding bone are damaged. Hemisection involves removing a diseased root while preserving the tooth.
In case a dentist is unable to find the cause of certain dental problems, they may recommend endodontic surgery and a consultation with a specialist in oral surgery in St. George, UT. If your X-ray scans show no issues, but you still experience specific symptoms, your endodontist may use surgery to identify hidden issues that do not appear on X-rays, check the tooth root, and make a diagnosis, and may refer you for oral surgery in Mesquite, NV if that location is more convenient.
Bottom Line
You are very likely to experience oral issues even if one tooth in your mouth is missing, especially when problems like impacted third molars eventually require wisdom teeth removal in Mesquite, NV. Recovery is generally mild for most patients, and over-the-counter pain medication is often enough before patients return to normal activities soon after treatment, similar to what most people experience after wisdom teeth removal in St. George, UT. Make sure you make an appointment to see whether you need endodontic surgery to save your tooth.
If you’re looking for the best oral surgeons and endodontists in town, don’t forget to book your appointment at Oral and Facial Surgery Institute, where you can learn more about our practice and team. Being in practice for a couple of years now, Dr. Shawn B. Davis provides the most convenient surgical procedures. Call us at (435) 220-2324 to learn more, or explore patient experiences with our surgeons such as Dr. Prince at the Oral and Facial Surgery Institute.