Surgical endodontics involves procedures to treat teeth with pulpal and periapical issues by accessing the root canal system beyond the root apex. Key aspects include:
- A history dating back over 1500 years including early drainage procedures and development of microsurgery in the 1980s.
- Objectives are to ensure a proper seal between surrounding tissues and root canal openings.
- Indications include treatment of failed nonsurgical root canals, procedural errors, anatomic variations, and biopsies.
- Techniques involve incision and drainage, trephination, periradicular curettage, root-end resection and filling to address issues beyond what can be treated nonsurgically.