Treatment in Surgery
How do dentists deal with cases that cannot be cured in the first place, or cases in which the pain is not relieved by conventional root canal treatment?
Figure 20: Radiographic image of apicoectomy
This is a surgical procedure that includes extraction. One such procedure is called " apicoectomy." (Figures 20 and 21)
The brief description of this procedure is that the contaminated root apex is cut away.
First, the gum around the root apex is detached to expose the root apex. Then,after removing about 2 mm of the tip, the bacteria around the tip are scraped off with scraper.
Then, medicine is placed in the open space to close the wound.
This method is very effective in terms of surgically removing the defective part, but unfortunately, it has the following drawbacks.
Figure 21: Apicoectomy
・Invasive surgical procedure
・Postoperative pain.
・Gum thinning may occur.
・It may not be possible for patients with systemic diseases such as diabetes and osteoporosis.
And most importantly....
...the roots become shorter and less supportive of the teeth.
This is what I mean.
In other words, as the roots that support the tooth become shorter, the tooth is more likely to shake, and if it becomes infected with periodontal disease, even slightly, it will have to be extracted.
It is also common for the tips of the roots to naturally resorb because they are not in their original natural shape.
In other words, this is the "limit of dental treatment" beyond the "limit of endodontic treatment," which is to preserve the tooth without extracting it, and ultimately the only option is to extract the tooth.