Apicoectomy

On occasion, the nonsurgical endodontic treatment may not be sufficient to help a patient. In such cases Dr. Kholodenko, Dr. Seltzer, or Dr. Reece may suggest that you need endodontic surgery. There are several reasons why surgery should be considered. A patient may be in pain, but no apparent problems are visible on the x-ray. During such times surgery could be used to explore the entire root of the tooth, find the problem, and fix it. Another reason for surgery could be that one or more of the root canals are severely calcified, and reaching the end of the root by a nonsurgical method will not be possible. In such cases a surgery would be used to clean out the end of the roots.

The most common endodontic surgery is called apicoectomy or root-end resection. This surgery is performed when an inflammation is found in the bone area around the end of your tooth. During this procedure Dr. Kholodenko, Dr. Seltzer, or Dr. Reece will make a small incision in the gum tissue. The exposed inflammation will be removed from the bone area. The tip of the root will be cut off and replaced with a small root filling to prevent reinfection of the root. The gum will be sutured. Over the next months, the bone should return to full function.