410-321-5704
Towson Endodontics
Practice Limited to Endodontics and Microsurgery
2300 Belair Road
Fallston, MD 21074
410-321-5700
515 E Joppa Road, Suite 106
Towson, MD 21286
Apicoectomy
Occasionally, a nonsurgical root canal procedure alone cannot save your tooth and your endodontist will recommend surgery. Endodontic surgery can be used to locate small fractures or hidden canals that weren't detected on x-rays or during previous treatment. Surgery may also be needed to remove calcium deposits in root canals, or to treat damaged root surfaces or the surrounding bone of the tooth.
There are many surgical procedures that can be performed to save a tooth. The most common is called an apicoectomy, or root-end resection, which is occasionally needed when inflammation or infection persists in the bony area around the end of your tooth after a root canal procedure. In this microsurgical procedure, the endodontist opens the gum tissue near the tooth to see the underlying bone and to remove any inflamed or infected tissue. The very end of the root is also removed. A small filling may be placed to seal the end of the root canal and few stitches or sutures are placed to help the tissue heal. Over a period of months, the bone heals around the end of the root. Local anesthetics make the procedure comfortable, and most patients return to their normal activities the next day. Postsurgical discomfort is generally mild.
To learn more about endodontic surgery, please give our office a call and we'd be happy to schedule you for a consult with one of our endodontists.
If you have already been scheduled for an apicoectomy with our office, you can view the pre-surgical instructions here.