Although there are many surgical procedures that can be performed to save the tooth, the most common is called apicoectomy or root-end resection. When inflammation or infection persists in the bony area around the end of your tooth after a root canal procedure, your endodontist may have to perform an apicoectomy.

In this procedure the gum is opened near the tooth to see the underlying bone and to remove any inflamed or infected tissue. The very end of the root is also removed.

A small filling is placed to seal the end of the root canal and a few sutures are placed in the gum to help the tissue heal properly.

Over a period of months, the bone heals around the end of the root.