Endodontic (Apical) Surgery

The most common endodontic surgical procedure is called an apical surgery or root-end resection. When inflammation or infection persists in the bony area around the end of your tooth after endodontic treatment, your endodontist may perform an apical surgery if retreatment has not been successful or is not a good option. In this procedure, the endodontist opens the gum tissue near the tooth to expose the underlying bone, and the infected tissue is removed. The very end of the root is also removed, and a small filling is placed to seal the root canal.

Local anesthetics make the procedure comfortable, and most patients return to their normal activities the next day.

When apical surgery is recommended by Dr. Potter, she will usually request that a 3D scan (aka. CBCT) be taken so that she can have a full, 3-dimensional view of the root and surgery site.

This is also used sometimes to ensure that the patient is a good candidate for surgery. The patient is sometimes placed on an antibiotic and anti-bacterial mouth rinse prior to surgery to help clean the surgical site. Following surgery, the patient is seen again in 3-7 days for a post-op check up and suture removal, if necessary. Then, in 6 months, the patient is evaluated again to ensure that the bone around the tip of the root is healing adequately.