When all goes well, a simple or surgical tooth extraction is a routine process with a normal recovery time. In most cases, the formation of the procedure is more stressful than the procedure itself. However, for some patients, everything does not go as planned. Here’s what you need to know about root tip issues…
What is Tooth Root Tip?
Every tooth has the same basic anatomy. The crown is the visible part of the tooth and the roots reach the gums and attach to the tooth socket. Root tips are the tip of the root, the part that is most deeply embedded in the gingiva.
During extraction, root tips may be accidentally broken, causing root tips to remain embedded in the gingiva or tooth socket after extraction. It’s hard to know exactly how often this happens.
What Are Common Root Tip Issues?
Some common problems include:
Infection: A root tip left behind after the root canal may not be free from the infection that caused the root canal in the first place. A retained root tip can continue to form an infection that can lead to more serious oral health problems.
Longer healing times: Retained root tips can lead to longer healing times after root canal. The presence of the root tip also means that the surgical site heals differently, which may or may not affect later dental restorations.
Surgical removal is required for the implant: Some patients decide to have a dental implant after the root canal, so they don’t worry about a retained root tip. However, if they change their minds in the future, leaving the root tips after extraction means they must be surgically removed before the implant can be placed.
How Do You Know If You Have a Root Tip Problem?
Some patients have no idea that the root tip is retained after extraction. The extraction sites may heal perfectly and continue to receive a dental restoration that does not expose that small piece of bone left behind.
Other patients may not be so lucky. The following symptoms may indicate a root tip remaining after extraction:
.Pain, redness and swelling in the extraction site
.Frequent jaw pain
.Bitter taste in mouth
.Bad breath
.Signs of infection such as mild fever or discharge at the extraction site
.Slow recovery
.Swelling on the sides of the gums
The root tip may also begin to migrate to the shoot wound. This can be irritating. You may feel a small piece of bone under the stitches. It’s rare to see the remaining root tip from the gum, but this action is your body’s way of removing the remaining root tip for you.
Because the root tip may have been displaced, X-rays are the only way to diagnose a retained root tip.
What Treatments Help with Root End Problems?
There are conflicting views on the treatment of root tip problems. On the one hand, if the retained root tip is not a problem for the patient, it seems unnecessary to add an additional oral surgery, especially if the patient does not prefer to have dental implants.
On the other hand, even if the retained root tip is currently not causing problems, this does not mean that it will happen in the future. If the dental implant is the dental restoration of choice, the root tip will need to be removed to place the implant.
The root tip removal procedure is similar to a surgical extraction and follows these four steps.
1.Locate the root tip
Your dentist will confirm where the root tip is using x-rays.
2.Prepare the root tip extraction site
The surgical site will be numbed and if you have any concerns about the procedure, your dentist may also prescribe a mild sedative to help calm you down. They may also use nitrous oxide during the procedure.
3.Extract the root tip
There are two ways to remove the root tip. If the root tip is not in contact with the bone and has moved towards the surface of the gum, your dentist may make a small incision to locate and remove the root tip.
If your root tip is still attached to the jawbone, the procedure is more complicated. Your dentist will open a flap of gum tissue on the side of the gum. This gives them better access to the jawbone.
Using an X-ray to guide them, the dentist then removes some of the bone surrounding the root tip to help loosen it from the jawbone. Even if you go through this treatment, your dentist will monitor you closely during the procedure to manage any pain.
4.Close the wound
Your dentist will carefully clean the surgical site and suture the wound. The root tip removal procedure is sometimes confused with an apicectomy. An apicectomy (also called root tip resection) differs in that it surgically removes the root tip from the gum, as well as removes inflammation and infection. The root tip of the tooth is filed to seal the rest of the tooth against infection.
If you are experiencing root tip problems after extraction, as a result of a failed root canal, or for any other reason, it is recommended that you contact your dentist.
