With proper care, most teeth that have had endodontic treatment can last as long as other natural teeth. However, in some cases a tooth may not heal as expected after the initial treatment for a variety of reasons:

• Narrow or curved canals were not treated during the initial procedure.
• Complicated canal anatomy went undetected in the first procedure.
• A crown or other restoration was delayed following the inital procedure and salivary contamination occurred.
• A broken or loose restoration exposed the root canal filling to bacteria.
• The endodontically treated tooth sustains a fracture allowing bacterial contamination.

To retreat the tooth, the endodontist will reopen the tooth, remove the root canal filling material, reclean and reshape the canals. New endodontic material will be placed inside the tooth to seal it properly. If the canals are still blocked, endodontic surgery may be recommended to save the tooth. After the retreatment procedure, a temporary filling will be placed in the biting surface of the tooth to be replaced by a permanent restoration by the general dentist.

No matter how effective tooth replacements are, nothing is as good as your natural tooth. Having already made an investment in saving the tooth, choosing retreatment is the most prudent to keep a healthy functioning natural tooth for many years to come.