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.
