Root End Surgery - Apicoectomy

Root tip resections are necessary if the area of the root tip of a tooth has triggered an inflammation. This can for example be caused by an accident in which the tooth was damaged. However, the most common cause is a bacterial infection due to tooth decay.

Prior to an apicoectomy, the dentist always has to do a root filling at the respective tooth. Sometimes the root filling was done a long time ago, in which case the inflammation has already been present since the root filling was done and will later for various reasons cause acute pain.

When the apical root tip is surgically removed, the root canal is prepared again from the root side, and following a dense root filling is performed. Inflammatory tissue, which has formed around the root tip, will be completely removed during surgery. Sometimes cysts (radicular cysts) are forming around in the root tips, these must also be completely removed and then further examined by a pathologist.

At the patient's request, resections can be performed very accurately with the aid of a surgical microscope. With a 5-15 x magnification, it is possible to detect even the finest root canals and to treat it. The probability of a successful root resection is significantly higher when performed under the operating microscope than it would be with a conventional surgical method.

Root tip resections are performed mostly under local anesthesia, but a sedation or general anesthesia can also be administered if it is requested by the Patient.