Root canal treatment is needed when bacteria reach the pulp — the soft tissue inside the tooth containing the nerve and blood vessels. Inflamed pulp causes pain, and the infection spreads to the root tip where a focus of inflammation forms. The aim of treatment is to remove that tissue, clean the canals and seal them tightly so the tooth can be kept.
When root canal treatment is needed
- Prolonged throbbing pain that worsens at night or when lying down.
- Lingering pain from hot or cold — ordinary sensitivity passes in seconds, pulpitis does not.
- The tooth hurts when biting or when tapped.
- A gum boil or swelling appears.
- The tooth has darkened after trauma.
The pain often disappears by itself — this is not recovery, it means the nerve has died. Inflammation continues quietly at the root tip.
Why under a microscope
Root canals are often 0.2–0.5 mm wide, curved and branching. With the naked eye some canals are simply not visible — most commonly the fourth canal of a molar. A missed canal is the main reason root canal treatment fails and the tooth has to be extracted years later. A microscope gives up to 25× magnification and light directly into the canal.
Prices in Tallinn
From the Unidenta price list, primary treatment under a microscope:
- Incisor — €125
- Premolar — €150
- Molar — €205
- Single-visit incisor root canal under a microscope — €250
Retreatment of a previously treated tooth is more complex: incisor €165, premolar €200, molar €255. Canal filling (first canal €65, each further canal €28) and restoring the tooth — composite filling from €65 or a crown from €450 — are charged separately.
How treatment works
- Anaesthetic and isolation. The tooth is isolated with a rubber dam so saliva and bacteria cannot enter the canal.
- Access and cleaning. Canals are located under the microscope, widened and irrigated with a disinfecting solution.
- Medication. If needed, a dressing is placed in the canal (€15) and the tooth closed with a temporary filling (€25).
- Filling. Clean canals are sealed tightly up to the root tip.
- Restoration. A root-treated tooth becomes brittle, so a molar usually needs a crown.
Is it painful?
The treatment itself is done under anaesthetic and is painless. The pain the patient arrives with usually disappears as soon as the pulp is removed. For a couple of days afterwards the tooth may be tender when biting — that is normal and passes.
Treat or extract?
Extraction is cheaper (from €50), but filling the gap with an implant costs over €1,100, and every lost tooth changes the position of its neighbours. If a tooth can be saved, root canal treatment is almost always the better choice.
If a tooth hurts, do not wait — the longer inflammation continues, the fewer options remain. Book an appointment at Unidenta in Tallinn.