| What is an Apicoectomy? Gulfport |
Teeth are held in place by roots that are sunken into the jawbone. Front teeth usually have only one root while the other teeth have two ore more roots. The end of each root is known as the apex. The blood vessels and nerves enter the teeth through the apex and travel through a canal inside the tooth and enter into the pulp chamber which is inside the crown. This is the part of the tooth you can see in the mouth.
Root canals are complex with several small branches off the main canal. The root canals are cleaned and the infected and dead tissue from within the tooth is removed during a root canal treatment. Without this treatment, the tissue which surrounds the tooth will become infected and an abscess will be formed. The objective is to remove all the infected area, with half a millimeter to the tip. It is possible that despite a root canal treatment that infected areas can still remain in these branches. This is likely to prevent healing or may even cause re-infection. It will then be necessary for a second root canal treatment to be carried out. With advanced technology, it is possible to detect the problem and have it successfully treated. However, if the problem still persists it will then be necessary to carry out an apicoectomy which is also called endodontic microsurgery -- as an operating microscope is often required. It is a surgical procedure which is used to remove the infection, caused by the failed root canal treatment. This procedure is followed only after the tooth has had at least two root canal treatment.
In an Apicoectomy or Root-End Resection as it is also known, the root tip and the surrounding infected tissue of the abscessed tooth is removed. This procedure is carried out by an Endodontic Specialist.
To perform this surgery, a local anesthesia is administered and the area is numbed. The gum area is lifted from an area near the root area of the tooth and the apex is accessed by removing the thin area of the bone covering the end of the root. The infected part of the apex is removed. Apical or retro filling is required to seal all canals that are not properly sealed as the success of the procedure is dependent on the sealing of all the canals.
The area around the apex or root tip, is then cleaned and curetted and the gum is placed back into the original position and sutured. The infection will then have disappeared and the bone should heal to fill the area around the apex.
A successful Apicoectomy is the solution to protect the teeth from extraction and thus save a tooth.
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