Endodontic Retreatment

With the appropriate care, your teeth that have had endodontic treatment will last as long as other natural teeth. Yet, a tooth that has received treatment may fail to heal or pain may continue to exist. Sometimes, the pain may occur months or years after treatment. If so, Endodontic Retreatment may be needed.

Improper healing may be caused by:

• Curved or narrow canals were not treated during the initial treatment.
• Complicated canals went undetected during the initial treatment.
• The crown or restoration was not placed within the appropriate amount of time following the procedure.
• The crown or restoration did not prevent saliva from contaminating the inside of the tooth.

In some cases, new problems can influence a tooth that was successfully treated:

• New decay can expose a root canal filling material, causing infection.
• A cracked or loose filling or crown can expose the tooth to new infection.

Once retreatment has been prescribed, the endodontist will reopen your tooth removing the restorative material to gain access to the root canal filling material. Using a combination of rotary and hand instruments in conjunction with solvents, the old root canal filling material will be removed from the canal system. The doctor will then clean the canals and carefully examine the inside of the problematic tooth. Once cleaned, the Doctor will fill and seal the canals with sterile material and place a transitional filling in the tooth.