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Endodontics in Barcelona
Saving the tooth instead of pulling it
What a root canal solves
A root canal, what everyone calls killing the nerve, does one thing: it keeps a tooth that would otherwise have to come out.
It is done when the nerve inside the tooth has become infected or damaged, almost always because decay has reached it, sometimes after a knock and sometimes from years of wear. The nerve is removed, the canal where it sat is cleaned out, and it is sealed so infection cannot get back in.
The thing worth knowing before you come is this: if you are in pain, the root canal is what TAKES the pain away, not what causes it. Its reputation comes from the days before modern anaesthetics.
- Our Mission: To offer effective and lasting solutions to complex dental problems, using the most advanced endodontic techniques to ensure the satisfaction and well-being of our patients.
- Say goodbye to dental pain: Join the thousands of people in Barcelona who have trusted us to solve their dental problems through safe and effective root canal treatments. Book your appointment today and take the first step towards a healthy, pain-free smile.
What it is, in two sentences
Inside every tooth, beneath the enamel and the dentine, there is a soft tissue with nerves and blood vessels: the pulp. It is what makes a tooth feel cold.
When decay reaches the pulp, it becomes infected. And because it is sealed inside a tooth, which does not give, the swelling has nowhere to go: hence that pain unlike any other, the one that wakes you at night and that cold or heat sets off.
Left alone, the infection escapes through the tip of the root and forms an abscess in the bone. At that point it is not just the tooth: the face swells. A root canal stops that by emptying and sealing the canal.
A root-treated tooth is still yours and works the same, with one difference: it becomes more brittle, because it has lost the blood supply that kept it hydrated and an access hole has been made in it. That is why it is nearly always protected afterwards with a rebuild or a crown, and that is not an add-on sale: an unprotected root-treated molar splits fairly easily, and when it splits it is usually lost.
How the appointment goes
Under local anaesthetic, the same as for a filling. You feel no pain during the treatment; what you notice is having your mouth open for a good while.
Anaesthetic and isolation. The area is numbed and a rubber sheet is placed to isolate the tooth from the rest of the mouth. That isolation is not a detail: it keeps out saliva, which is what reinfects a freshly cleaned canal.
The access is opened. A small opening through the biting surface down to the chamber where the nerve sits.
The canal is cleaned and shaped. This is the long part. Very fine files remove the infected tissue from each canal and it is irrigated to disinfect. How many canals there are depends on the tooth, and that decides how long the appointment takes and what it costs.
It is sealed. The cleaned canals are filled right to the tip of the root, so no space is left where bacteria could grow again.
It is rebuilt. The access is closed and it is decided whether the rebuild is protection enough or the tooth needs a crown. On molars, almost always a crown.
Many cases are done in a single session. If there is an active infection, sometimes it takes two, with medication left inside the tooth in between. Afterwards it is normal for the tooth to feel tender when biting for a few days.
Endodontics price in Barcelona
Endodontics of incisors and canines
These are the front teeth and they usually have a single canal, so they are the simplest and quickest. Access is easy and the appointment is short.
At Clínica Dental Barcelona, 175 € + 55 € for the rebuild. The price can change if the case turns out more complex than expected, and you are told that before we start, not afterwards.
Premolar Endodontics
They sit between the canines and the molars and can have one or two canals. One more canal means more cleaning time and more risk of one being left untreated, which is the usual reason a root canal fails years later.
At Clínica Dental Barcelona, 200 € + 55 € for the rebuild, and the figure can vary with the complexity of the case.
Endodontics Molars
These are the most demanding: between two and four canals, some of them curved and hard to follow to the end. This is where it really shows whether the canals were cleaned all the way to the tip or only part of the way.
At Clínica Dental Barcelona, 220 € + 55 € for the rebuild, and it can vary with complexity. A root-treated molar nearly always needs a crown afterwards, and that is separate and quoted with you.
What is reendodontics?
It means repeating the root canal on a tooth that already had one. It comes up when the pain returns, or when a check-up X-ray shows a shadow at the tip of the root.
There are usually three reasons: a canal was never located, the seal did not reach the end, or leakage under a poorly fitting crown has let bacteria back in. Needing it does not mean the first one was done badly; in molars with very curved canals, sometimes you simply cannot get there.
How retreatment differs
The steps are the same, with one difference at the start and another at the end.
At the start, the previous work has to be undone: removing whatever crown or rebuild is there and taking out the material the canals were sealed with the first time. That step does not exist in a first root canal and it is why the appointment runs longer.
Then the canals are located, including the one that may have been missed, cleaned and sealed again. And at the end it is rebuilt once more, because the tooth is left with even less structure than after the first time.
When retreatment does not solve it either, two roads remain: surgery on the tip of the root, or extraction and an implant. Both are put to you with their price and their prognosis, rather than trying a third time without saying so.
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