Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
There is a possibility that a root canal treatment will not be successful the first time. If infection and inflammation recur and an x ray indicates a repeat treatment is feasible, the old filling material is removed and the canals are thoroughly cleaned...
out. The dentist will try to identify and correct problems with the first root canal treatment before filling and sealing the tooth a second time.
In cases where an x ray indicates that another root canal treatment cannot correct the problem, endodontic surgery may be performed. In a procedure called an apicoectomy, or root resectioning, the root end of the tooth is accessed in the bone, and a small amount is shaved away. The area is cleaned of diseased tissue and a filling is placed to reseal the canal.
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This narrated animation shows how root canal surgery can save a natural tooth from destruction from advanced tooth decay. A cut away view of the tooth is shown along with the steps required to replace the diseased core of the tooth. In this version of a root canal, an artifical crown is placed, commonly referred to as a dental cap.
During a root canal, the diseased pulp of a tooth (A), is removed (B). The remaining empty tooth is filled and sealed with a filling or crown. (Illustration by GGS Inc.)
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In the situation that a tooth is considered so threatened (because of decay, cracking, etc.) that future infection is considered likely or inevitable, a pulpectomy, removal of the pulp tissue, is advisable to prevent such infection. Usually, some inflammation and/or infection is already present within or below the tooth. To cure the infection and save the tooth, the dentist drills into the pulp chamber and removes the infected pulp by scraping it out of the root canals. Once this is done, the dentist fills the cavity with an inert material and seals up the opening. This procedure is known as root canal therapy. If enough of the tooth has been damaged, or removed as a result of the treatment, a crown may be required.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endodontic_therapy#Root_canal_treatment
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