Cyst treatment

A dental cyst is a pathological cavity in the periapical tissues of the tooth — a dense bubble with clear outlines, located at the apex of the tooth root and filled with liquid contents. Increasing in volume сystic fluid (dead cells, living bacteria, decay products) "inflates" the cyst from the inside that leads to its constant increase.

Why does a dental cyst occur? There are several reasons for its formation:

• damage to the tooth inside the gum;
• pulpitis;
• paradontitis;
• periodontal disease;
• ENT-diseases with a risk of infection in the dental canal (for example, maxillary sinusitis).

The diagnosis of "dental cyst" is usually made on the results of X-ray or CT scans. Special attention should be paid to teeth hidden under crowns, as well as to those filled more than ten years ago. 

Until relatively recent times, dentists used the simplest and most merciless method of getting rid of a cyst - removing the affected tooth and cleaning the gums. Nowadays more progressive and rational ways to treat cysts with tooth preservation exist and they are successfully performed at the Oxford Medical Clinic.

These methods include:

1. Therapeutic (for cysts of small size - granulomas). It consists in drilling out the tooth and cleaning the root canal - the contents of the cyst come out through the formed "passage". Then active substances are introduced into this passage, which destroy the cyst shell, and the cystic cavity is filled with a special paste, after all these procedures the tooth is filled. After that, the patient undergoes regular examinations, and if within six months the growth of the cyst is not detected on the X-ray, it means that the treatment was successful.
2. Surgical (most effective and frequently used). A dental surgeon performs a cystectomy-removing the cyst and the damaged apex of the tooth root. If possible, the resulted from this procedure hollowness is filled with bone material with the purpose to minimize the risk of deformity of the alveolar process. This method guarantees a 100% solidity. 

In addition, in some cases a hemisection can be performed — removal of the cyst, one of the roots and crown portion. This method is used if the root is remediless and there is no sense in trying to save it. The defect formed as a result of hemisection is corrected with a crown.

There are only two cases when the surgical method is helpless: if the tooth is already destroyed almost to the root, or if it is completely immersed in the cystic cavity and is loose. But, of course, it is better not to carry the tooth to such a fatal condition.