Page 26 - The Beauty and Sorrow in Endodontics-Chapter 1

Many dentists are often confused between the terms “overfilling” and

“overextension”; they do not only exhibit different clinical presentations, but also
differ vastly in prognosis. As seen in this case, overfilling is a result we wish to see
after proper cleaning, shaping, and tightly filled obturation, either presenting as white-
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in-white dots (apical portion of 25) or white puffs (midroot 25). These do not impede
in the body’s immune system from eliminating the peri-radicular lesions since the
cause of the disease has been removed. Furthermore, retrofill of the canalsis a
necessary step after apical surgery, this requires the material to overfill the apex, and
with the various materials being used over the years, there has not been any concerns

of any of these materials affecting the healing process.

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4-years since 25 was retreated, the patient returned to the clinic due to
concerns for another tooth. She reported that there has not been any recurrence of the
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swelling around 25 and was very appreciative of all the efforts the team made to help
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her retain the tooth. Percussion and palpation testings of 25 and its probing depths
were all normal and comparable to adjacent teeth. The radiograph shows continuous
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lamina dura around 25 with no apical radiolucency or signs of infection (Fig 18F).

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