What Is Apicoectomy – A Complete Insight

An apicoectomy is a dental process on which an oral surgery specialist exposes the root structure under the gums and the structure of the jaw bone. This process is done to remove the infected soft tissue that is located at the root of the tooth. This process is often referred to as root end resection and retrograde root canal treatment.

Why It Is Performed?

This apicoectomy is performed if a root canal treatment goes wrong. Though the majority of root canal treatments are successful there are still chances of failure. In these cases the root canal treatment is incapable to remove all infected pulp effectively from a tooth. In such cases this apicoectomy saves the tooth. Generally, an x-ray helps in determining if this is the ideal option.

Who Can Go for It?

The candidates for this treatment are the people who have undergone failed root canal treatment. After this failure an apicoecctomy still gives a chance to save the tooth. This process stops the infected pulp to spread to the entire jawbone. But you should make a visit to the oral surgery specialists to assure you are in safe hands.

The Apicoectomy Process

This process is done with local anesthesia. A small incision or cut is made along the gum line for root end and jaw bone structure access. Next a small microscope is used to see the condition in details. Now the surgeon can clearly see the condition of infected tooth pulp. Next the root tip is removed and for healing the surgeon does a small bone grafting. The surgeon will stitch up the area for faster healing.

Many patients recover soon from this condition. Some start working from the next day but some may get swelling and a little discomfort. The patients should follow all the instructions given by the oral surgery specialists about diet and brushing. Contact Dr. Wooten at Oral and Facial Surgery of Oklahoma for this treatment.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.