The success rate for endodontic treatment is greater than 95%. However, considering the tremendous number of teeth that have been treated over many years, this still leaves the need for an occasional re-treatment of a failing root canal.

What would cause a root canal to fail?

Unfortunately, root canals are often not single straight channels, but are curved or contain branches that are difficult to clean. Teeth that have been treated in the past may have developed leakage around restorations or small cracks that allow bacterial contamination. These conditions can often be corrected by re-cleaning and refilling the root canal system.