Endodontic Retreatment
With the appropriate care, your teeth that have had endodontic treatment will last as long as other natural teeth. Yet, a tooth that has received treatment may fail to heal or pain may continue to exist. Sometimes, the pain may occur months or years after treatment. If so, Endodontic Retreatment may be needed.
Improper healing may
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- Curved or narrow canals were not treated during the initial treatment.
- Complicated canals went undetected during the initial treatment.
- The crown or restoration was not placed within the appropriate amount of time following the procedure.
- The crown or restoration did not prevent saliva from contaminating the inside of the tooth.
In some cases, new problems can influence a tooth that was successfully treated:
- New decay can expose a root canal filling material, causing infection. (Image 1)
- A cracked or loose filling or crown can expose the tooth to new infection.
Once retreatment has been prescribed, our doctors will reopen your tooth to gain access to the root canal filling material. This restorative material will be removed to access the root canal. Our doctors will then clean your canals and carefully examine the inside of the problematic tooth. Once cleaned, we will fill and seal the canals and place a temporary filling in the tooth.
At this point, you will need to return to your dentist as soon as possible in order to have a new crown or restoration placed on the tooth to restore full functionality.
Retreated teeth can function well for years, even for a lifetime. It’s always best to save the tooth if your endodontist believes retreatment is the best option for you.
An alternative is extraction of the tooth. The extracted tooth can then be replaced with an implant, bridge, or removable partial denture to restore chewing function and to prevent adjacent teeth from shifting. Because these options require extensive surgery or dental procedures on adjacent healthy teeth, they can be far more costly and time consuming than retreatment and restoration of the natural tooth.
No matter how effective modern tooth replacements are- and they can be very effective-nothing is as good as your natural tooth. You’ve already made an investment in saving your tooth. The payoff for choosing retreatment could be a healthy, functioning natural tooth for many years to come.