Root canal treatment
Minor surgery to remove the infected tip of a root, used where retreatment through the crown is not possible. Under local anaesthetic, about an hour, £980.
Where the tooth carries a well-fitting crown and post that would be destroyed by removing it, where a previous retreatment has already failed, or where a fractured instrument blocks the canal — in all three, going in through the top of the tooth costs more than it recovers.
The procedure: a small incision in the gum over the root tip, the last few millimetres of root removed, the canal sealed from the end with a biocompatible cement under the microscope, and the gum closed with fine sutures. You are awake throughout and it is much less dramatic than it sounds.
Success rates with modern microsurgical technique and mineral trioxide aggregate are around 85–90% at five years, considerably better than the figures people find online, which mostly predate both. Sutures come out at a week and the bone fills in over six months.
Visible swelling and some bruising for three to five days, worst on the second morning. Ice for the first day, ibuprofen, and sleep propped up on an extra pillow. Most people take a day off and are presentable by the weekend.
If the tooth carries a sound crown and good bone support, £980 to keep it is usually better value than £180 to remove it plus £2,400 for an implant. If the root is vertically fractured, no surgery will help and we will say so.
Legally yes; sensibly no. It is a procedure where magnification changes the outcome substantially, which is why it sits on a specialist endodontist’s list.
Root canal treatment
Reopening a root canal that has failed — removing the old filling material, finding the canal that was missed, and starting again. Dr Tomasz Bielski does this under a surgical microscope at up to 25×.
ExploreGeneral dentistry
We would rather not, and we will tell you when a tooth can be saved and roughly what that would cost. When it genuinely cannot be, the appointment is straightforward — and we will have agreed what fills the gap before the tooth comes out.
ExploreFor the profession
Endodontics, implant surgery and orthodontics referrals across North and West Yorkshire, reported within five working days and returned to you for the restorative work.
ExploreA written plan with fixed prices before anything starts, at either clinic. Ring us or book online — reception can usually find something while you are on the call.