The goal of most restorative dental treatments, including root canal therapy, is to preserve your injured tooth for the rest of your life. With that in mind, it is still possible for your tooth to heal improperly or become diseased and cause pain at any point after your initial procedure. When this happens to your endodontically treated teeth, we could perform a retreatment to reattempt to save your tooth. In simple terms, this procedure is identical to your original therapy with an additional step to remove your crown and material that fills your root canal.
Why Would You Need Retreatment?
While root canal therapy enjoys a high rate of success, like other medical and dental procedures, an infection or inflammation can persist after initial treatment. The reasons for failing to heal properly vary and include a delay in placing your crown, complicated canal shape, and contamination inside your tooth by saliva.
Other times, your treatment may incur problems months or years in the future. Physical trauma can fracture your treated tooth or break off the crown, exposing your pulp chamber to infection. An entirely new case of tooth decay can expose the root canal filling material to your oral bacteria.
Performing Your Endodontic Retreatment
Your second attempt at preserving your tooth can be performed in two visits. At the first, we will remove all material filling the canal from your initial therapy and insert an antibiotic called calcium hydroxide. We then seal the tooth temporarily to allow the medication to reduce infectious bacteria and increase your odds of healing. When the proper time has passed, we will remove the antibiotic and perform root canal therapy once again.
We will clean the canals thoroughly and refill them with gutta-percha. If during retreatment we discover that your canals are too narrow or blocked, we could suggest endodontic surgery to more clearly detect and remove infected or inflamed tissues.
Speak With Your Londonderry, NH Dentist About Restoring Your Tooth With Endodontic Retreatment
When root canal therapy fails to remove your bacterial infection or your treated tooth becomes compromised years later, retreatment can provide a second chance at preserving its natural structure. We may be able to prevent extracting your tooth by removing your dental cap and applying a powerful antibiotic to fight infection within its canal. To find out more about our endodontic services, call our Londonderry, NH office today at 603-965-3407.
