Endodontic Microsurgery: What Is It?
February 22, 2016
When most people experience pain in their teeth, they worry about what can be done to fix it. At Advanced Endodontics of Westchester, we use a wide range of treatment options for our patients, often starting with the lease invasive and moving forward from there. There are some cases in which a root canal is not enough to rid a patient’s tooth of infection, which is when we may choose to turn to microsurgery in White Plains, NY, as the next step. While surgery can seem like a scary word, our procedure is actually very straight forward, once you understand how and why we do it.
Why Is Endodontic Microsurgery Used?
Everyone’s teeth are help in place by roots extending into the jawbone. At the tip of a root is the apex, which is where blood vessels and nerves enter the tooth through a canal. These canals can become infected, which require cleaning through a root canal treatment by an endodontist. When this option does not sufficiently remove the infection, microsurgery may be needed. Also called an apicoectomy, this treatment involves removing the infected tissue, as well as the apex of the tooth.
How Is Endodontic Microsurgery Performed?
Our endodontist uses a tiny operating microscope to find the damaged tissue, clean it and seal it, after an incision into the gum is made and access is gained to the root by using a small drill. After all of the infected tissue is removed, a suture is made in the gum to aid in healing, and over time the bone will regrow around the end of the effected root. Most of the time these procedures take only 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the location of the tooth and the severity of the problem.
If you think that you would benefit from microsurgery in White Plains, NY, please don’t hesitate to call Dr. Kolnick at 914-750-4033.