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A root canal can fail for several reasons. A tooth can become infected again if your dentist did not completely clean out all of the root canals. Bacteria can get inside a tooth if a filling or crown starts to break down or leak.

 

A repeat root canal treatment tends to be more involved and take more time than the first one. Your dentist must remove the crown, post and core, and filling material before he or she can do the second root canal. Some people who need another treatment may have infections that are difficult to destroy. Because they take more time and can be complicated, second root canals also usually cost more.

 

Sometimes a second root canal can be hard to do. For example, it may be too risky to remove a post and core. The post that is in the tooth may be cemented or set in very tightly. If that is the case, the tooth may be injured in the process. So your dentist may decide to do endodontic surgery instead.

 

This surgery allows the dentist to get inside a tooth’s root from the bottom of the tooth, rather than the top. Your dentist will not touch the crown of the tooth. The retreatment of the root canal will occur through the root.

 

Endodontic surgery is done with a specialist in Endodontics and  in the dentist’s office. Dr. Fernando is an Endodontist . First, you will receive a shot to numb the area. Then your dentist will make a small cut in the gum near the tooth. He or she will clean out the infected tissue around the tip (apex) of the root. Then, your endodontist will shave off the tip of the root. This procedure is called an apicoectomy. The endodontist will clean the inside of the canal from the root end, and then put a filling in the end of the root. The cut is then stitched.

 

Endodontic surgery is successful about 85% of the time. If the surgery does not get rid of the infection, the tooth will have to be extracted.

 

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