Monday, July 21, 2014

Failing Root Canal?

Root Canals are like any other medical procedure. 
Sometimes they don't work.

So what do you do then?
One option is an Apicoectomy.

If you have no idea what that is then you are not alone.
In this day and age of implants this procedure has fallen out of favor.
But it should still be a very viable option in some cases.

Here is an apicoectomy we did just this morning. 
The tooth in the middle of the screen has the root canal.
You can tell by the white line running down the center of the root.
The white line isn't to the end of the root, and that may have lead to 
the continuous pain and discomfort that this patient was feeling.




You can tell from this photo that the root looks much shorter.
We surgically removed it.
We then cleaned out the infected area, placed a bone graft, 
and threw in a few stitches.
This procedure should allow the patient to maintain her 
original tooth while also getting rid of her pain.





Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Cosmetic Bonding - Closing the Gap.

Fantastic case of Gap Closure with Cosmetic Bonding.
Young man from Saudi Arabia, about 25.
Didn't like gap in front teeth. 
Also thought that they were too long.


Before

About 30 minutes. 
No shots.
The same cost as a couple of fillings.
Added material to the sides of both and shortened them.

After