Non-surgical endodontic retreatment of failed surgical retreatment: A case report

The purpose of this article was to illustrate an alternative approach to non-surgical management of teeth with failed surgical retreatment. The patient presented with complaint of severe pain after endodontic treatment of the maxillary right lateral and central incisors, which has not been reduce by periradicular surgery. Radiographic examination revealed the poor quality of both the endodontic and amalgam root-end fillings, which were associated with periapical lesions. Non-surgical endodontic retreatment was performed while the root-end amalgams were left. The case was considered as open-apex teeth; therefore, MTA plugs were placed to ensure obtaining a hermetic seal. Follow-ups of 6 years post-procedure revealed clinical disappearance of the symptoms, and radiographs established complete healing of the lesions without removing the root-end amalgams. The treatment was successful in this case, while avoiding re-surgery has led to preserving root length. Nonsurgical endodontic retreatment may provide an alternative to the more complicated option of re-surgical treatment.