Tooth Root Amputation in Orange County, Anaheim, Laguna Woods & Mission Viejo | Emergency Dental Care

Root amputation is a dental procedure for a multi-root tooth. This specialized dental procedure removes one of the roots from a tooth to stabilize it. To make it fully functional, your dentist may add filling and close the cavity with a crown.

Root amputation is best suited for molars. These are large and flat teeth that often have two or three roots. The number of roots depends on the exact location of the tooth.

The Need for Root Amputation

Root amputation is a dental procedure that can save an injured or infected tooth from extraction. This procedure has excellent success rate and helps many people keep healthy and natural tooth.

Alternative procedures such as bridgework, dental implants, and custom tooth replacements could prove to be costly. These procedures also take more than one appointments.

On the other hand, root amputation rarely takes more than three visits. Sometimes, your orthodontist may complete the procedure in a single short appointment. It makes the procedure quick and less expensive compared to other alternates.

Unfortunately, root amputation can’t save all teeth from extraction. This procedure would only succeed if the target tooth has a healthy surface and a strong bone support. Your dentist will also examine gums and decide whether to opt for root amputation or not.

In cases where the tooth is fractured or severely infected, it won’t be possible to repair the tooth and bring it back to full functionality. Such teeth have to be extracted.

What Leads to Root Amputation?

Here are the problems that often lead to root amputation.

• Broken, fractured or injured teeth and roots
• Embedded bacteria within the structure of the root
• Severe bone loss in a concentrated area due to periodontitis
• Tooth decay in a concentrated area of the tooth

The root amputation procedure

Tooth root amputation involves the following steps.

• Local anesthetic: This procedure is performed under local anesthetic.
• Root canal: Your dentist will perform root canal to remove the tooth pulp, vessels, and nerves. This is important since root amputation procedure cannot begin when pulp is still there.
• Cutting through the tooth: Once pulp is removed, the orthodontist will reach deep into the tooth by cutting through.
• Incision on the gum: The roots of the affected tooth will be fully exposed by making a small incision in the gum.
• Removing the root: One of the roots will be removed from the teeth.
• Killing bacteria: Saline solution is used to kill any remaining bacteria in the area.
• Sealing the incision: The incision is closed using stitches to keep the bacteria away from affected area.
• Crown and filling: The last step in this procedure is to place a temporary crown or filling to ensure that the tooth is able to function again.