Root amputation- An alternative to tooth extraction: A case report with one year follow up

Abstract

Compromised teeth are challenging to the dentist which complicate the treatment plan and affects the long-term prognosis. Advances in dentistry, as well as the increased desire of patients to maintain their natural dentition, have led to treatment and preservation of teeth that once would have been removed. The most commonly extracted teeth due to dental caries and periodontal disease are mandibular molars. These teeth are the major standpoint for occlusion, and also have a wide pericemental area. Root resection is the treatment option for preserving molars with furcation involvement. It is the process by which one or more of the roots of teeth are removed at the level of furcation while leaving the crown and remaining roots in function. The procedure of root amputation was first introduced by Farrar in 1884. It is a suitable treatment option when the resorption, perforation, or periodontal damage is restricted to one root while the other root is relatively healthy. This case report describes, root amputation as a successful treatment method to save a mandibular first molar which would have been extracted.