Treatments / General dentistry / Apicectomy
Apicectomy
A surgical endodontic procedure considered for selected persistent problems around a tooth root.
Could this treatment help you?
Occasionally a root-treated tooth becomes infected again at the very tip of the root, where conventional re-treatment cannot reach. An apicectomy approaches from the side: the root tip and the infection around it are removed, and the end of the root is sealed.
It is minor oral surgery with one purpose — keeping a tooth that would otherwise be extracted. The practice carries out minor oral surgery, including under sedation, and accepts referrals from other practices.
This may suit you if
A root-treated tooth with returning infection — often a small tender swelling near the root — where re-doing the root canal is impossible or has already failed, and the tooth is otherwise worth keeping.
What it will not do
An apicectomy is the last line for a tooth, and it does not always succeed — where it fails, extraction and replacement are discussed. Whether your tooth is a genuine candidate is decided at assessment with x-rays, not assumed.
- A last chance to keep a tooth rather than extract it
- Minor surgery under local anaesthetic, with sedation available
- Referrals from other practices accepted
- Step 1AssessmentX-rays confirm the infection sits at the root tip and the tooth is savable.
- Step 2The surgeryUnder local anaesthetic, the root tip and infection are removed.
- Step 3SealingThe root end is sealed against re-infection.
- Step 4ReviewHealing is checked and the bone monitored on x-ray.
Afterwards
Swelling and bruising for a few days is normal and settles with ordinary painkillers. Stitches are removed or dissolve, and the site is kept clean exactly as instructed at the visit.
Questions patients usually ask.
Is an apicectomy worth it versus extraction?
A kept natural tooth generally beats any replacement, which is why the option exists. But it is weighed honestly — where the tooth’s outlook is poor, putting the money toward a replacement is the better advice, and you will hear it.
Can I be sedated for it?
Yes — the practice provides minor oral surgery including sedation. Ask at the assessment and it is planned in.
Our friendly team are here to help you
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