Endodontic retreatment is the procedure performed when a previous root canal treatment has failed. The original filling material is removed, the canal system is re-cleaned and re-disinfected, any missed canals are located and treated, and the canal is re-obturated.
This is a stub reference page for scaffold testing. The full procedure reference will be drafted against the procedure-reference brief in Plan/Content365.md Day 1 onwards.
When retreatment is indicated
A previously root-canal-treated tooth is a candidate for retreatment if there is evidence of persistent infection (periapical lesion on radiograph or CBCT, symptoms on biting, sinus tract) and the tooth is structurally and periodontally restorable.
When retreatment is not indicated
Vertical root fracture, inadequate ferrule, advanced periodontal involvement, or a non-restorable crown-to-root ratio rule out retreatment.
For the decision between retreatment and extraction-and-implant, see the failed-root-canal decision framework.
A note on cross-border retreatment
A meaningful fraction of retreatment caseload at Australian and UK specialist practices is work that originated overseas. Patients return with persistent periapical infection eighteen to thirty months after international treatment, and the records that would let a retreating clinician understand what was attempted are often unavailable. The structural reasons this happens — and the limits of every existing remedy for it — are documented in why patients cannot reliably distinguish good clinics from bad ones.