Apical surgery for a mandibular molar is still challenging for many reasons. This report describes the applications of computer-guided cortical ‘bone-window technique’ using piezoelectric saws that prevented any nerve damage in performing endodontic microsurgery of a mandibular molar. A 49-year-old woman presented with gumboil on tooth #36 (previously endodontically treated tooth) and was diagnosed with chronic apical abscess. Periapical lesions were confirmed using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Endodontic microsurgery for the mesial and distal roots of tooth #36 was planned. Following the transfer of data of the CBCT images and the scanned cast to an implant surgical planning program, data from both devices were merged. A surgical stent was designed, on the superimposed three-dimensional model, to guide the preparation of a cortical window on the buccal side of tooth #36. Endodontic microsurgery was performed with a printed surgical template. Minimal osteotomy was required and preservation of the buccal cortical plate rendered this endodontic surgery less traumatic. No postoperative complications such as mental nerve damage were reported. Window technique guided by a computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture based surgical template can be considerably useful in endodontic microsurgery in complicated cases.

Appropriate use of local hemostatic agent is one of the important factors on the prognosis of endodontic microsurgery. However, most investigations to date focus on the hemostatic efficacy of the agents, whereas their biologic characteristics have not received enough attention. The purpose of this paper was to review the biologic response of local hemostatic agents, and to provide clinical guidelines on their use during endodontic microsurgery. Electronic database (PUBMED) was screened to search related studies from 1980 to 2013, and 8 clinical studies and 18 animal studies were identified. Among the materials used in these studies, most widely-investigated and used materials, epinephrine, ferric sulfate (FS) and calcium sulfate (CS), were thoroughly discussed. Influence of these materials on local tissue and systemic condition, such as inflammatory and foreign body reaction, local ischemia, dyspigmentation, delayed or enhanced bone and soft tissue healing, and potential cardiovascular complications were assessed. Additionally, biological property of their carrier materials, cotton pellet and absorbable collagen, were also discussed. Clinicians should be aware of the biologic properties of local hemostatic agents and their carrier materials, and should pay attention to the potential complications when using them in endodontic microsurgery.

Epinephrine is one of the most widely-used vasoconstrictors in dental treatment including endodontic microsurgery. However, the systemic safety of epinephrine has been in debate for many years because of its potential risk to cause cardiovascular complications. The purpose of this review was to assess the cardiovascular effect of epinephrine use in endodontic microsurgery. Endodontic microsurgery directly applies epinephrine into the bone cavity, and the amount is reported to be much larger than other dental surgeries. Moreover, when considering that systemic potency of intraosseous application is reported to be comparable to intravenous application, the systemic influence of epinephrine could be increased in endodontic microsurgery. Besides, pre-existing cardiovascular complications or drug interactions can enhance its systemic influence, resulting in increased susceptibility to cardiovascular complications. Although clinical studies have not reported significant complications for patients without severe systemic complications, many epinephrine-induced emergency cases are warning the cardiovascular risk related with pre-existing systemic disease or drug interactions. Epinephrine is a dose-sensitive drug, and its hypersensitivity reaction can be fatal to patients when it is related to cardiovascular complications. Therefore, clinicians should recognize the risk, and the usage of pre-operative patient evaluation, dose control and patient monitoring are required to ensure patient's safety during endodontic microsurgery.

Nowadays, oral anticoagulants are commonly prescribed to numerous patients for preventing cardiovascular accident such as thromboembolism. An important side effect of anticoagulant is anti-hemostasis. In a major surgery, the oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) regimen must be changed before the surgery for proper post-operative bleeding control. However, in a minor dental surgery and endodontic surgery, the necessity for changing or discontinuing the OAT is open to debate. In this study, risks of the consequences were weighed and analyzed. In patients who stop the OAT, the occurrence of thromboembolic complication is rare but the result is fatal. In patients who continuing the OAT, post-operative bleeding can be controlled well with the local hemostatic measures. In the endodontic surgery, there are almost no studies about this issue. The intra-operative bleeding control is particularly important in the endodontic surgery because of its delicate and sensitive procedures such as inspection of resected root surface using dental microscope and retrograde filling. Further studies are necessary about this issue in the viewpoint of endodontic surgery.

Apical surgery cuts off the apical root and the crown-to-root ratio becomes unfavorable. Crown-to-root ratio has been applied to periodontally compromised teeth. Apical root resection is a different matter from periodontal bone loss. The purpose of this paper is to review the validity of crown-to-root ratio in the apically resected teeth. Most roots have conical shape and the root surface area of coronal part is wider than apical part of the same length. Therefore loss of alveolar bone support from apical resection is much less than its linear length.The maximum stress from mastication concentrates on the cervical area and the minimum stress was found on the apical 1/3 area. Therefore apical root resection is not so harmful as periodontal bone loss. Osteotomy for apical resection reduces longitudinal width of the buccal bone and increases the risk of endo-perio communication which leads to failure. Endodontic microsurgery is able to realize 0 degree or shallow bevel and precise length of root resection, and minimize the longitudinal width of osteotomy. The crown-to-root ratio is not valid in evaluating the prosthodontic prognosis of the apically resected teeth. Accurate execution of endodontic microsurgery to preserve the buccal bone is essential to avoid endo-perio communication.

In current endodontic practice, introduction of operating microscope, ultrasonic instruments, and microinstruments has induced a big change in the field of surgical retreatment. In this study, we aimed to offer key steps of endodontic microsurgery procedure compared with traditional root-end surgery, and to evaluate factors influencing success and failure based on published articles.

Endodontic microsurgery is a surgical procedure performed with the aid of a microscope, ultrasonic instruments and modern microsurgical instruments. The microscope provides magnification and illumination - essential for identifying minute details of the apical anatomy. Ultrasonic instruments facilitate the precise root-end preparation that is within the anatomical space of the canal. Modern endodontics can therefore be performed with precision and predictability, thus eliminating the disadvantages inherent in traditional periapical surgery such as large osteotomy, beveled apicoectomy, inaccurate root-end preparation and the inability to observe isthmus.

Factors influencing the outcomes of endodontic microsurgery may be diverse, but standardization of procedures can minimize its range. Among patient and tooth-related factors, periodontal status and tooth position are known to be prognostic, but there are only few articles concerning this matter. High-evidence randomized clinical trials or prospective cohort studies are needed to confirm these findings.