Tooth resection

Resection of a portion of the tooth is a type of dental surgery procedure which involves the removal of part of the tooth when previous treatments (usually endodontic) didn’t bring the expected result or there are other causes or symptoms necessitating treatment. When should the dental surgeon suggest root apex resection?

There are several cases:

• when previous endodontic treatment didn’t bring the expected result and there is no other way to cure the tooth canal,
• a dental instrument has been stuck in the root canal without the possibility of its removal by means of a different method than resection,
• the occurrence of cysts or other inflammatory changes resulting in the necessity to perform resection,
• the development of a fistula above a dead tooth, often properly treated endodontically, indicating chronic inflammation of periapical tissues.

The root apex resection treatment is usually performed under local anesthesia. After the removal of infected portions of the tooth, the dental surgeon often fills out the resulting bone void with auto or heterogeneous material. The material partially restores the tooth structure and prevents subsequent changes that eventually could lead to its complete elimination, i.e. tooth extraction.