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Apicoectomy
Occasionally the pain and infection from a long standing decayed tooth may not be completely eliminated by root canal treatment alone. In such case an apicoectomy may need to be done.
What is an Apicoectomy?
An Apicoectomy, or Root-End Resection, is the removal of the root tip and the surrounding infected tissue of an abscessed tooth. This procedure may be necessary when inflammation and infection persists in the area around the root tip after root canal therapy or root canal retreatment
Step one: After the tooth is "numbed", the gum is reflected (lifted) to uncover the underlying bone and the root end of the tooth. The root-end is resected (removed) with all the surrounding infected tissue.
Step two: A root-end filling is placed to seal the end of the root canal, the gum is repositioned, and a few dissolvable sutures (stitches ) are placed to hold the gum tissue back in its place until healing occurs.
Step three: After a few months, the bone around the root-end has healed, and all symptoms are gone.
