When a tooth has an infection that is too severe to be treated with a traditional root canal, then you may need a form of surgery known as apicoectomy, or a root-end resection. This can help stop discomfort and preserve your smile. In today’s blog, your El Paso, TX, root canal experts talk about how we help infected teeth with a surgical procedure.
When an Infection Requires Surgery
With a traditional dental infection, the problem occurs in the pulp in the interior of your tooth. With a root canal, we will essentially open the tooth to access and remove the tissues. We then clean the interior of the tooth and the root canals, and add a special restorative filling known as gutta percha. Finally, we cap the tooth with a crown. But what if the infection moves into the root canals themselves and forms at the tip of them? A traditional root canal may be unable to reach them properly. This could occur for a number of reasons, including contamination from a previous endodontic treatment. Our team can help with an apicoectomy.
Ensuring Your Comfort
We know the idea of oral surgery can make people feel uncomfortable, and we want to help ensure our patients enjoy a positive office experience. We will not only administer a local anesthesia to the area where the treatment is occurring, but we can also discuss sedation. With options like nitrous oxide, oral conscious sedation, or IV sedation, we can choose the one that is right for you. This helps you enter a deep state of calm and relaxation, even if you have dental anxiety and special needs that make undergoing care a difficult process. Once you are comfortable, we can begin the treatment process.
The Apicoectomy
Once you are comfortable and ready, we will open the gums near the tip of the root. That way we can access it directly and then remove the tip to extract the infected tissues from the root canal. We then clean the area and add a special filling before we seal the end of the root. The next step is to suture the gums closed. The area then heals and you need to rest while following our instructions, including taking any medications we may provide to aid in the healing and recovery process. For treatment with precision and accuracy, we may use advanced technology, such as fiber optic lights, ultrasonic stools, and even microscopes.
Do You Need Treatment for an Infected Tooth?
Omni endodontics in El Paso, TX, wants to help you avoid tooth loss and discomfort with a root-end resection. To schedule an appointment and keep your smile whole, call us today at 915.990.3636.
