With the appropriate care, your teeth that have had endodontic treatment will last as long as other natural teeth. However, 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 or a failing root canal may be caused by:
- Curved or narrow canals were not treated during the initial treatment.
- Complicated canals went undetected during the initial treatment.
- Broken or separated instruments.
- Perforations through the root into surrounding tissues and bone.
- 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 selected as a solution to your problem, Dr. David Abdelmalak 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. He will then clean your canals and carefully examine the inside of the problematic tooth. Once cleaned, our endodontist will fill and seal the canals and place a temporary filling in the access opening.
At this point, you will need to return to your general dentist as soon as possible to have a new crown or restoration placed on the tooth to restore full functionality. If you would like to learn more about root canal retreatment in Glendale, California, please reach out to Glendale Endodontics & Microsurgery at 818-242-8955 today.
