Historical perspectives on the evolution of surgical procedures in endodontics.

The historical pathway to current surgical endodontic procedures and their applications has been tortuous and tumultuous. Influenced heavily in their development by the European sector, these surgical procedures faced many challenges over the decades. Fortunately for today's practitioners, influential members of the oral surgery community, and a few staunch believers in retaining devitalized teeth, persisted in their investigation of and search for improved procedures that had predictable outcomes. Many so-called "revolutionary" or newer techniques practiced today are but a re-emergence of surgical concepts that were lost in the archives of time. With the advent of evidence-based endodontics, these procedures are now supported extensively by science and by the integration of science into materials usage, technique applications and outcomes research. However, in many respects, this story is just beginning, as the "roots" of surgical endodontics are explored.