Conservative management of an accidentally resected root: a 3-year follow-up

Despite all the effort by dentists to provide high levels of dental care in clinical practice, there is always the possibility of accidents occurring. This report describes a referred case that presented with irreversible pulpitis in tooth #19. The situation developed after accidental resectioning of the distal root of tooth #19 during the surgical extraction of tooth #18 by another dentist. The resultant open apex in the distal root of tooth #19 was managed conservatively. A positive apical stop was prepared at the root end of the distal root and sterile calcium hydroxide powder was used to create an apical barrier against which a gutta-percha filling was condensed. The treatment appeared successful at 3-year follow-up.