Endodontic retreatment: decision making, prognosis and disassembling techniques.

Endodontic retreatment represents often a clinical dilemma. In contemporary dentistry, the introduction of osseointegrated implants should have narrowed the indications for retreatment; but this is not always true. Thus, the decision-making process of retreatment is of most importance, and this, along with the formulation of a reasonable prognosis, must be deeply evaluated and discussed with the patient. A patient-centered approach is needed in order to achieve the best results. Once that the decision of retreating the tooth has been taken, it comes the time of the techniques for disassembling, that must be known and applied with due precision, avoiding damages to the remaining tooth structure. If it has been decided that the restoration is to be maintained, these techniques must be planned with the goal of an easy and predictable repair of the access cavity.