Root Canal Treatment – Revision
Orthograde retreatment is used to address persistent or new apical periodontitis, or to enhance the quality of root canal fillings. The procedure involves removal of the existing filling, disinfection, and refilling. The prognosis is favorable.
Table of contents
This article is based on an original article in Swedish which can be found here
BACKGROUND
Retreatment may be necessary when the root-filled tooth shows clinical and/or radiological signs of persistent or secondary apical periodontitis. Such treatment can be performed with access to the root through a surgical procedure (retrograde root treatment) or as an orthograde retreatment.
See article on Retrograde Root Treatment
An incompletely root-filled tooth is likely to have an increased risk of infection if the root canals come into contact with oral cavity bacteria. Retreatment of the root filling on so-called technical indication (in the absence of apical periodontitis) may thus be justified to improve the quality of the root filling and prevent apical periodontitis in connection with, for example, a post-retained restoration of a previously root-filled tooth.
