At times your dentist might not be able to adequately treat you and will refer you to our Endodontist, this simply means that a more complex case is at hand. We have the experience, specialised skills and equipment in order to resolve these more difficult treatments. A number of situations may lead you to need specialist endodontic treatment at Artiste Studios:

​

• Complex tooth anatomy. Roots can curl around each other, canals can be calcified, or a tooth may have more canals than normal. Our Endodontist has seen enough teeth to know what to look for and handle any abnormalities your tooth may have, in a reasonable amount of time.

• Many patients are referred to our Endodontist because there has been a complication resulting from current treatment. This can include accidental perforation to the root. A perforation is when the dental file punches a hole through the outside of the root. Separated instruments, separated posts, and repair of perforations can now be managed with greater efficiency and success due to the expertise and special materials available.

• Extra canals undiscovered or untreated causing the tooth to abscess afterward creating the need for a retreatment can be frustrating for a patient. Having our Endodontist do the treatment from start to finish will help avoid this type of situation.

• Time is of essence. Our Endodontist does numerous root canals and has the procedure formulated in such a way that he is able to save you time and the need for various visits. For most patients, the less time spent in the dental chair, the better.

​

Retreatment cases
Even though endodontic treatment is one of the most successful and predictable procedures in modern dentistry, failures can occur. Some indications of failure include swelling, soreness, or the persistence of abscess at the root tip as identified in an x-ray. When this happens, a root canal revision procedure, also referred to as "retreatment" may be warranted.

Retreatment is a nonsurgical approach. It basically consists of redoing the root canal and is a second chance on maintaining the tooth

​

Reasons for Root Canal Retreatment 

• Incomplete Cleaning and Sealing.

• Retained microorganisms (bacteria) in the root canal.

• Complicated canal anatomy went undetected in the first procedure.

• Narrow or curved canals were not treated during the initial procedure.

• The placement of the crown or other restoration was delayed following the endodontic treatment.

• New decay can expose the root canal filling material to bacteria, causing a new infection in the tooth.

• A loose, cracked or broken crown or filling can expose the tooth to new infection.

• Inoperable canals because of calcification or unusual anatomy.

• Sometimes tissues fail to heal for unknown reasons.

• A tooth sustains a fracture.
   

Once retreatment has been decided as a solution to your problem, the Endodontist will reopen your tooth to gain access to the root canal filling material. This restorative material will be removed to enable access to the root canal. The Endodontist will now clean your canals and carefully examine the inside of the problematic tooth. Once cleaned, the Endodontist will fill and seal the canals and place a temporary filling in the tooth.

At this point, you will need to have a new crown placed on the tooth to restore full functionality

​

Endodontic Surgery

In a few cases, however, root canal treatment alone cannot save the tooth. In such a case, your dentist or Endodontist may recommend surgery. Endodontic surgery can help save your tooth in a variety of situations. Endodontic surgery usually takes less than 30 minutes and is quite successful.

Treatment depends on the cause of failure and still another chance on maintaining the tooth. The most common endodontic surgery is root end resection with root end filing also known as apicectomy

If you or your dentist are concerned about losing a problem tooth, and the alternatives for replacement are limited, give us a call to see if our experts can save your tooth for you.