Endodontic Procedures

Endodontic Surgery

Occasionally, as a result of repeated procedures and/or micro crack some inflammation or infection persists in the bony area around the end of the tooth after endodontic treatment. In such a case, surgery may be indicated.

Surgery can help save your tooth in a variety of situations:

Surgery may be used in diagnosis. If you have persistent symptoms but no problems appear on you x-ray, you tooth may have a tiny fracture or canal that could not be detected during non surgical treatment. In such a case, surgery allows us to examine the root of your tooth, find the problem and provide treatment.
Sometimes calcium deposits make a canal too narrow for the cleaning and shaping instruments used in nonsurgical root canal treatment to reach the end of the root. If your tooth has this "calcification," we may perform endodontic surgery to clean and seal the remainder of the canal.
Usually, a tooth that has undergone a root canal can last the rest of your life and never need further endodontic treatment. However, in a few cases, a tooth may fail to heal. The tooth may become painful or diseased months or even years after successful treatment. If this is true for you, surgery may help save the tooth.
Surgery may also be performed to treat damaged root surfaces or surrounding bone.

Local anesthetics make the procedure comfortable. You may feel some discomfort or experience slight swelling while the incision heals. This is normal for any surgical procedure. We will recommend appropriate pain medication to alleviate your discomfort. Most patient return to work or other routine activities the next day.

Often the only other alternative to surgery is the extraction of the tooth. The extracted tooth must be replaced with an implant, bridge or removable partial denture to restore chewing function and to prevent adjacent teeth from shifting.

No matter how effective modern tooth replacements are, nothing is as good as a natural tooth. You've already made an investment in saving your tooth. The pay-off for choosing endodontic surgery could be a healthy, functioning, natural tooth for the rest of your life.