What else can be done to save a tooth if a root canal cannot be accomplished or is not successful?
When infection or pain persists or recurs after the completion of a root canal, a surgical procedure called an apicoectomy may save the tooth. The painful and/or infected root tips are approached by cutting through the gum and bone next to the tooth. The surgeon exposes the root tip, cuts it off to ensure removal of the source of the problem and then seals off the hole in the root tip with a filling material. This procedure is about ninety percent successful, but has its own risks. If surgery is too expensive or dangerous, an “intentional replant” may be tried. The tooth is carefully extracted, the root tips are cleaned and sealed in the hand, and then the tooth is replanted, all within a few minutes. The success rate of this procedure is about eighty percent.
