Apicoectomy
Apicoectomy
Your teeth attach firmly with roots that extend to your jawbone. Larger teeth have more than one root, while your smaller incisors have only one root. The root’s tip is called the apex, and that’s where your tooth’s nerves and blood vessels are.
Root canals remove infection from the root and clean the canals. However, in some cases, pain and infection persist in that tooth. In those cases, we recommend an apicoectomy to remove the root tip. Failing to treat root infections even after a root canal can lead to damage to other teeth if the infection spreads. You can also suffer jawbone regression.
Why Your Dentist Might Recommend an Apicoectomy
When teeth are infected, you often experience extreme pain. While we explore the least invasive treatment option first, we sometimes still need to remove the apex of a tooth’s root to eliminate infection and avoid extracting the tooth.
Here’s why you might need an apicoectomy:
- Inflammation in Smaller Adjoining Roots: the roots of your teeth are complex and can include small branches. In some cases, we cannot clean these branches and seal them off from infection during a root canal treatment. That allows infection to remain and possibly spread.
- The Root Canal is Blocked: sometimes, the root of a tooth is blocked due to a previous root canal treatment. If this happens, there can be debris and infection in the part of the root we cannot reach. This infection can transfer to nearby teeth.
- Poorly Shaped Root Canals We Cannot Clean: if your tooth’s root canals are curved or extremely narrow, we cannot reach the root’s tip with the endodontic file. This could leave you susceptible to infection.
What’s the Process for an Apicoectomy?
Before an apicoectomy, Dr. Guller will likely prescribe an antibiotic to treat the infection. He will also take panoramic X-rays to plan the apicoectomy. To get started, we’ll administer local anesthesia.
Once you’re numb, we’ll make a small incision in your gums to expose the root. Some roots are so deep that we have to remove a small amount of your jawbone to reach the root’s tip. Once we reach the root, we’ll use ultrasonic instruments to remove the apex. We’ll then seal the root with filling material and stitch up your gums.
We’ll finish your appointment by instructing you on how to care for this area of your mouth and instruct you on any follow-up care you’ll need to return to our office for.
Get in touch with us if you’ve had a root canal but are still experiencing tooth pain.
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