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ROOT CANAL RETREATMENT

With the appropriate care, teeth treated with endodontic therapy can live as long as other natural teeth. However, a tooth that has previously been endodontically treated 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.

There are many reasons for why improper healing may occur. For one, there may be curved or narrow canals that were not treated during the initial treatment. Sometimes there are complicated canals that went undetected during the initial treatment. Another reason could be that the crown or restoration was not placed within the appropriate amount of time following the initial root canal therapy. Lastly, the crown or restoration may have not prevented saliva from contaminating the inside of the tooth. 

Sometimes, new bacteria infects a tooth that was already successfully treated. For example, new decay can expose a root canal filling material that can cause infection. In addition, a cracked or loose filling or crown can expose the tooth to new infection. 

If retreatment is recommended, we 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. The doctors will 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, you will need to return to your dentist as soon as possible in order to have a new crown or restoration placed on the tooth to restore full functionality.

With the appropriate care, teeth treated with endodontic therapy can live as long as other natural teeth. However, a tooth that has previously been endodontically treated 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.

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