A surgical procedure in which the apex (tip) of a tooth root is removed to treat an infection that won't heal with regular root canal treatment.
From Latin apex (tip) + Greek ektome (excision, cutting out). Medical terminology combining these roots emerged in the 20th century as dental surgery advanced.
When a normal root canal can't fix an infected tooth, dentists use this procedure—they literally remove the poisoned tip of the root to save the tooth instead of pulling it!
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