When root canal treatments do not solve a patient’s dental problems the first time, a trusted endodontist in Midtown Manhattan, NY, can treat patients with an apicoectomy treatment. Using the latest techniques and technologies to perform apicoectomy’s, an experienced endodontist can restore patients’ natural teeth and smiles with this advanced surgical solution.
When Do I Need Apicoectomy Treatment?
Apicoectomy, also known as an endodontic microsurgery or a root end surgery, is a surgical treatment used to restore a patient’s dental function and save their teeth when inflamed or infected pulp persists after a root canal. It is considered the next step to save a patient’s natural teeth.
Patients should see an endodontist to get an apicoectomy treatment in Midtown Manhattan, NY, when they notice:
Tooth Pain:
Tooth pain after a root canal surgery.
Reinfection:
If a patient gets re-infected where they had a root canal years ago.
Dental Damage:
When a patient’s root surface, or their surrounding bone area, becomes damaged.
Calcium Deposits:
When a root canal cannot be performed because trauma or aging has caused calcium deposits to form.
Tooth Decay:
When patients have new or reoccurring tooth decay after a root canal, causing persistent inflammation and infection.
Extra Canals:
After a root canal surgery, it is discovered that a patient has extra canals branching from the primary canal at the root end.
Most of the time, an endodontist will only suggest performing apicoectomy treatments in Midtown Manhattan, NY after digital x-rays and a CBCT scans have helped them determine if the patient’s teeth can be saved.
How Is An Apicoectomy Treatment Performed?
While a root canal is performed through the crown of the tooth, an apicoectomy treatment is a surgical approach through the patient’s gums.
Once a patient’s dental anxiety and pain are relieved with sedation dentistry, the endodontist will drill a small hole in the patients’ bone. This small hole will allow the endodontist to access the patients infected periapical tissues, the tissues around the tooth’s root end. The endodontist will then remove any inflamed or infected tissue near or around the tip of the tooth’s root. A few millimeters of the root tip itself will also be removed.
After this, the endodontist will place a small filling in the end of the root canal, sealing the canal and preventing further infection from occurring there. Bone grafts and a membrane may be used to cover the bony window, the small hole, that was made in the patient’s bone to access the patients tooth root. Finally, sutures are used to close the gum tissues, allowing them to properly heal.
Recovery time for the bone to heal around the root can take several months. Most patients have positive results after an apicoectomy treatment.
Get Your Apicoectomy Treatment!
Don’t worry if your root canal treatment failed, our endodontics office can help you with an apicoectomy treatment. Get in contact with Dr. Mahua Bose Pillai at our Advanced Endodontics of New York office to schedule an appointment today!
Dr. Bose earned her Master’s in Medical Sciences (MMSc) in Endodontics from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and stays current with advances in technology to give her patients the best results.
