Dental root fragment extraction using a hypodermic needle

Fracture of dental roots during extraction leads some dentists to refer patients to oral surgeons for surgery, when removal of the root fragment is indicated. Lack of financial resources and unavailability of specialists in some regions of the world forces dentists to attempt the same themselves, occasionally without success. This article highlights how a general practitioner may safely use a simple dental injection needle to remove such fractured root-stumps prior to attempting surgery or referring a case. The benefits to the patient are economic and temporal.