What is Apicoectomy?
Although rare, occasionally a tooth does not heal properly after a nonsurgical root canal procedure. In that case, your endodontist may recommend an apicoectomy procedure. Apicoectomy, or root-end resection, may be needed when inflammation or infection persists in the bony area around the end of your tooth after a root canal procedure.
Advanced technologies like digital imaging and operating microscopes allow these procedures to be performed quickly, comfortably and successfully.
How does it work?
Your endodontist performs this micro surgical procedure first making you comfortable by applying local anesthesia before opening the gum tissue near the tooth to see the underlying bone and to remove any inflamed or infected tissue.
Once the root of the tooth is exposed, your endodontist may locate small fractures or hidden canals that could not be detected on X-rays or during the initial treatment. Your endodontist will remove calcium deposits that blocked root canals, and treat root surfaces that have been damaged from infection.
Next, your endodontist will remove the very end of the root. Finally, the endodontist will place a small filling to seal the end of the root canal and a place few stitches, or sutures, to help the tissue heal. In the next few months, the bone will heal around the end of the root. Most patients return to their normal activities the next day. Post-surgical discomfort is generally mild.
