With the appropriate care, your teeth that have had root canal therapy will last as long as other natural teeth. Yet, a tooth that has received treatment may fail to heal or pain may continue to exist. Sometimes, symptoms may occur months or years after treatment. If so, root canal retreatment may be needed.
Improper healing may be caused by:
- Curved or narrow canals were not completely treated during the initial treatment.
- Tiny canals went undetected during the initial treatment.
- The crown or restoration was not placed within the appropriate amount of time following the procedure, and the treated area became contaminated.
- The crown or restoration did not prevent saliva from contaminating the inside of the tooth.
In some cases, new problems can influence a tooth that was successfully treated:
- New decay can contaminate a root canal filling material, causing infection.
- A cracked or loose filling or crown can expose the tooth to new infection.
Once retreatment has been selected as a solution to your problem; Dr. Glassley 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. Dr. Glassley will then clean the canals and carefully examine the inside of the problematic tooth. Once cleaned, Dr. Glassley will fill and seal the canals and place a temporary restoration in the tooth.
At this point, you will need to return to your dentist within two weeks in order to have a new crown or restoration placed on the tooth to restore full functionality.