Magoek Station Dental Clinic: Do You Really Need to Pull a Tooth? What Is Intentional Tooth Replantation?

Does a tooth really need to be pulled?

Hello,

This is Yeonsu Wish Dental Clinic near Magoek Station,

I’m Yeo Sang-ho.

These days, there are almost no people who do not know about implants,

and implants have become a very common treatment.

Korean dentists’ implant surgery skills are truly recognized worldwide. In fact, there are even people who come from overseas to learn.

But behind this bright picture, there is also a somewhat unfortunate reality.

According to data released every year by Straumann, a specialized dental implant company in Switzerland,

Korea ranks first in the world in implant placement per 10,000 people. Why are there so many implant patients in Korea?

Why does this happen? In fact, it is hard to say that gum disease or oral hygiene conditions are especially worse than in other countries. Personally, I think several of the following reasons are working together.

1. There are many doctors who can perform implant surgery

In other countries, qualifications for implant surgery are often strictly limited, with only certain specialists allowed to perform the procedure. In Korea, however, many dentists can learn implant techniques through dental school education and various post-graduate training courses, seminars, and so on.

2. Structural reasons for intensified price competition

In Korea, some large hospitals may set implant treatment fees at relatively low levels. Because of this, patients may choose treatment based only on cost, and other treatment options that can preserve the natural tooth may not be fully considered.

In fact, for a hospital to provide good materials and equipment, and treatment suitable for the patient, that requires corresponding preparation and investment. Therefore, rather than deciding based only on cost, it is important to carefully check the treatment process, materials used, and follow-up care.

At Yeonsu Wish Dental Clinic, we prioritize ways to preserve the patient’s teeth as much as possible, and we make it our principle to guide patients toward appropriate treatment when needed. We believe this is the healthiest way of providing care to protect your oral health in the long term. In the end, the choice belongs to the patient. Sometimes patients ask, “Why do treatment costs differ from hospital to hospital?” They can never be exactly the same, but I often compare it to a lawyer’s retainer fee.

Even if the retainer fee is a little higher, as more people choose a lawyer who takes responsibility, stays with them through the entire process, and pays attention to post-case management, in dentistry as well, it is important to choose based on the overall value, including the treatment process and the care afterward.

Especially because dental treatment is performed directly on my body, once it has been done, it is often difficult to reverse.

It is not just a simple purchase; this is a decision that can affect my teeth and health for a lifetime, so you need to be more careful when choosing a treatment method.

That is why, medical staff also understand very well that the patient’s choice is not a light one, and we believe we must take responsibility and stay with the patient until the end.

3. The practical difficulties of root canal treatment Root canal treatment is essential to save a tooth, but in reality, it is one of the more difficult procedures from a dentist’s perspective.

The treatment process is delicate and takes a long time, but under the current insurance fee system, that effort and time are not sufficiently reflected.

But, I majored in conservative dentistry. I still do not feel comfortable pulling out each and every tooth carelessly. When I painstakingly treat each tooth and see the patient use it comfortably, I feel deeply rewarded. What Is Intentional Tooth Replantation at Magoek Station Dental Clinic?

This is the X-ray image commonly taken during a visit to a dental clinic near Magoek Station. It is called a panorama X-ray. The patient came in because of discomfort in the lower right molar area.

It had already undergone root canal treatment and crown treatment. There is a round shadow at the root tip.

The area marked in red looks suspicious. We need to take a CT scan.

The red area is a region where bone has dissolved due to inflammation, and the blue area is the inferior alveolar nerve, which is responsible for sensation in the jaw and teeth. As you can see, the inflammation is touching the nerve.

If more time passes like this, the patient may develop sensory disturbance in the lower right jaw. In other words, symptoms such as reduced or dulled sensation may appear.

In this case, trying simple retreatment of the root canal is not easy. The tooth has a very complex root canal structure, so the success rate of the existing root canal treatment does not seem high, and the success rate of retreatment could be even lower.

So the method chosen by Dr. Wish at the Magoek Station Dental Clinic was intentional tooth replantation.

Intentional Tooth Replantation

Implants are familiar to many people, but many may be unfamiliar with the method called tooth replantation. Among teeth that develop problems after root canal treatment, many cases are caused by not being able to fully treat the complex root canal space within the 3 to 5 mm near the root tip.

Our goal is to target that 3 mm near the root tip. So, how is it treated?

The photo you are looking at shows the cleanly finished root tip immediately after the treatment was completed.

After carefully removing the patient’s tooth from the mouth, we precisely treat the 3 mm near the root tip under high magnification and then immediately place it back in its original position.

This process is called intentional tooth replantation.

At this point, what matters most is treatment speed, thorough sterilization, and precise technique. In particular, a tooth that has undergone root canal treatment can, to put it simply, break easily when force is applied, like a completely dried-out piece of wood. So an even more careful approach is needed.

Using Dr. Wish’s know-how (secret 🤫), we safely remove the tooth, complete the necessary treatment within 15 minutes, and place it back in its original position.

Treatment period: 2025.05.20 ~ 2025.06.03

The photo on the left is before treatment, and the photo on the right is the X-ray immediately after treatment. As you can see, the root tip is slightly shorter, and you can see the white filling material. You may be wondering, “But there is still a black shadow at the root tip?”

Recovery Period After Tooth Replantation

In fact, on X-rays, the bone refilling process can only be confirmed after at least 3 months have passed.

So for this patient as well, if they visit again in 3 months, I plan to take a follow-up X-ray and show it on the blog.

At present, about 3 weeks have passed since the surgery, and they say that aside from mild pain for about a day or two, there has been no major discomfort at all. Most importantly, they are very satisfied with the treatment result.

In this patient’s case, although discomfort and a significant inflammatory lesion were visible on X-ray, fortunately the bone around the tooth root was intact, and the tooth was not loose.

In a situation like this, I cannot easily recommend extraction. That is because there is still a chance to try saving it at least once. (After all, my teeth are precious 😎)

To be honest, we also cannot save every tooth to the very end.

When a patient comes in far too late after enduring the problem for too long, and the gum bone or tooth condition has already worsened significantly, there are times when we must regretfully recommend extraction.

Or sometimes, even while continuing treatment through difficult circumstances, we may eventually reach a point where extraction is the only option. At times like that, patients have already invested time and money, but did not get the result they wanted, so it is completely understandable that they feel disappointed.

But at Yeonsu Wish Dental Clinic near Magoek Station, if there is even one last possibility of saving the tooth, we do not give up on trying until the end.

Pulling the tooth and placing an implant may be the easier path, but we practice with the mindset of ‘trying to save it at least once.’

Your wallet may become lighter, but we believe the desire to protect the patient’s teeth becomes richer.

In fact, the patient in this case is also my family. That is why I feel it even more deeply.

The medical staff at Yeonsu Wish Dental Clinic near Magoek Station always treat patients using the standard of “What would I do if this were my family?”

Your precious teeth, we hope you will Wish them with us.