Appel D, Schäfer E, Appel C. Success rate of orthograde endodontic retreatment after failed apicectomy - A retrospective study. Int Endod J 2023; DOI: 10.1111/iej.13925. Online ahead of print.

Orthograde retreatment should be considered a valuable treatment option after failed apicectomy.

The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical outcome of orthograde endodontic retreatment after failed apicectomy. Success was rated radiographically in 191 cases of orthograde retreatment after failed apicectomy that were treated in a private practice with a documented recall of at least 12 months. The radiographs were rated individually by two observers; in cases of disagreement a consensus was reached by joint discussion with a third observer. Success or failure were evaluated according to previously described criteria. The success rate and the median survival were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The log rank test was used to evaluate the effect of prognostic factors/predictors. The mean follow-up of the included 191 patients was 32.1 months and the median was 25 months. The overall recall rate was 54%. The overall percentage of success was 84.8%. The median survival was 86 months. None of the selected predictors had an influence on the treatment outcome.