Root canal

The price depends on the number of canals: a front tooth is cheaper than a molar with three or four canals. An extra crown after the treatment often comes on top.

On average 45 to 90 minutes, sometimes spread over two appointments, especially with an infection or a molar with several canals.

A tender tooth when chewing or touching is normal and usually fades within a few days to a week or two. If the pain increases, swelling develops or you get a fever, or if the pain lasts longer, contact your dentist.

Yes, although the success rate is high (roughly 85 to 95%). Sometimes an infection persists because of a hard-to-reach canal or a small crack. Options are then a retreatment or an apicoectomy (root-tip surgery).

If the tooth can be saved, keeping it is usually preferable: your own tooth functions best. Extraction is wise if the tooth is too badly damaged. A gap can later be filled with an implant or bridge, which is often more expensive than a root canal treatment with a crown.

After anaesthesia the dentist opens the tooth, removes the inflamed or dead tissue from the canals, cleans and disinfects them and fills them. The tooth is then sealed with a filling or crown.

Under anaesthesia you feel no pain, at most pressure. With an acute infection, numbing is sometimes harder; tell your dentist if you feel anything. Afterwards the tooth can be tender for a few days.

Persistent or throbbing pain (also at night), hot/cold sensitivity that lingers, pain when chewing, swollen gums or a dark discoloured tooth. Sometimes there are no symptoms and it is discovered on an X-ray.

Not always. A molar with a lot of tooth loss often gets a crown to prevent fracture, whereas a front tooth with little loss may do with a filling. Your dentist advises based on what is left of the tooth.