With the appropriate care, your endodontically treated teeth will last just as long as your natural teeth. However In some rare cases, a treated tooth may fail to heal or pain may continue to exist months or even years after treatment. In this scenario, Endodontic Retreatment may be required.
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 determined as the best solution to your problem, the doctors will reopen your tooth to gain access to the root canal filling material. To enable access to the root canal, they’ll remove this restorative material. The doctors will proceed to clean your canals and carefully examine the inside of the problematic tooth. Once cleaned, the doctors will fill and seal the canals and place a temporary filling in the tooth.
At this point, return to your dentist as soon as possible to have a new crown or restoration placed on the tooth to restore full functionality.