Endodontic Treatment

Endodontics is a highly specialized area of dentistry that treats the “inside” of a tooth — known as the pulp — and surrounding tissues. The phrase “endodontic” is derived from the Greek work “endo” meaning inside and “odont” meaning tooth. In short, it is the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and injuries to the dental pulp along with associated conditions. Most common endodontic treatments consist of root canals or apicoectomy. At Great Expressions, we have many dedicated endodontic dentists (or endodontists) that specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of challenging endodontic conditions.

An apicoectomy involves the surgical removal of the root tip (apex) of your tooth and infected surrounding tissue when a traditional root canal has failed.

When your tooth cannot heal properly and becomes infected, an apicoectomy — or root-end resection — is often the most common surgical option. Your endodontist will treat the area with local anesthetic, before opening the gum tissue and removing the infected tissue under or around the tooth. The root of the tooth is also removed, and a small filling may replace the removed portion of the root to seal the root canal. The surgery will require minor stitches to assist with healing, and you may experience slight swelling while your tooth heals.

Depending on the severity of the issue, an endodontic procedure can take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes, or require more than one visit to your endodontic doctor. To know how long your procedure could take, contact your local dentist for more information.