Patients often refer to this procedure as “root-cutting”. One part of the procedure indeed involves cutting and removing the tip of the root. The common question is why an apicoectomy is performed and what its purpose is. Let’s explain.
If a tooth decay is not treated in time, bacteria can pass through the tooth nerve and into the root tip and then through it into the bone. Bacteria in the bone can cause an infection called a granuloma. An untreated granuloma can spread and enlarge through the bone.
Granuloma can be treated conservatively, without involving surgical interventions. If such treatment fails, an apicoectomy or root-end resection is performed. With a surgical approach and under local anesthesia, the root tip is accessed, cut, and removed from the bone together with the granuloma (infection). The tooth (root) is then closed either over its tip or from the crown direction, and the wound is sutured.
The postoperative course is usual as with other surgical interventions.