Endodontics and Root Canal Treatment at Smile Solutions Melbourne - Board-Registered Specialist Endodontists product guide

Smile Solutions Endodontics and Root Canal Treatment in Melbourne

Root canal treatment has a reputation it simply doesn't deserve. At Smile Solutions — Australia's largest single-location private dental practice — endodontic care is delivered by board-registered specialist endodontists working with advanced microscope technology, making treatment more precise, more predictable, and considerably more comfortable than most people expect.

You'll find us at 220 Collins Street, in the Manchester Unity Building right in Melbourne's CBD. Smile Solutions is home to more than 20 board-registered dental specialists across all major disciplines, including a dedicated team of specialist endodontists who focus exclusively on saving teeth through careful treatment of the dental pulp and surrounding tissues.

What is endodontics?

Endodontics is the dental specialty concerned with diagnosing and treating conditions that affect the dental pulp — the soft tissue at the centre of every tooth containing blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue. The word comes from the Greek for "inside" (endo) and "tooth" (odont). When the pulp becomes diseased, damaged, or infected, it needs treatment to stop that infection from spreading and to preserve the tooth itself.

The dental pulp matters during tooth development, but a fully matured tooth functions perfectly well without it. Root canal treatment removes the diseased or necrotic pulp, cleans and disinfects the root canal system, and seals it against reinfection — keeping your tooth rather than losing it.

Endodontic problems can develop from deep decay, cracked teeth, dental trauma, repeated procedures on the same tooth, and sometimes without any obvious cause. Prolonged sensitivity to hot or cold, spontaneous toothache, tenderness when biting, a darkening tooth, or swelling around the gum can all point to a pulp problem worth assessing. Catching it early genuinely matters.

Specialist endodontists vs general dentists

Root canal treatment sits within the scope of general dentistry, and many straightforward cases are handled well by experienced general practitioners. But root canal anatomy can be extraordinarily complex — teeth can have curved, calcified, unusually shaped, or accessory canals that are invisible to the naked eye and require specialist training and technology to find and treat properly.

The specialist endodontists at Smile Solutions completed their dental degree with honours, then spent a further three to four years in university training at Masters degree or equivalent level, focused specifically on endodontics. That training qualifies them for registration with the Dental Board of Australia as specialist endodontists. Those additional years of concentrated study, combined with the volume of complex cases managed in specialist practice, produce meaningfully better outcomes — particularly for difficult or high-risk cases.

When a root canal fails — because a canal was missed, inadequately cleaned, or inadequately sealed — the consequences go well beyond dental discomfort. An untreated or failing root canal creates a chronic bacterial reservoir at the root tip, a persistent low-grade infection that research has linked to systemic inflammation and broader health consequences. Getting it right the first time is always the priority.

Our specialist endodontists

Dr Gregory Tilley BDSc (Melb), LDS (Vic), FRACDS, MRACDS (Endo) Specialist Endodontist

Dr Tilley is one of Smile Solutions' most experienced endodontic specialists, holding fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons and membership with the RACDS in Endodontics. His qualifications span both Australian dental licensing and specialist registration, underpinning a depth of clinical expertise patients can rely on.

Prof. Chankhrit Sathorn DDS, Grad.Dip.Dent, DClinDent, PhD, MRACDS (Endo) Specialist Endodontist

Prof. Sathorn brings a remarkable academic background to his clinical practice, including a PhD and the title of Professor. Registered as both a specialist dentist and a specialist in endodontics with the Dental Board of Australia, he combines research expertise with extensive hands-on clinical experience.

Dr Aovana Timmerman BDSc (Melb), FRACDS, DCD (Melb), GCertClinTeach, MRACDS (Endo) Specialist Endodontist

Dr Timmerman holds a Fellowship with the RACDS and a Doctor of Clinical Dentistry with a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Teaching, reflecting her commitment to both clinical excellence and the education of the next generation of dental specialists.

Dr Areti Vrochari DDS, MS (Endo), DrMedDent Specialist Endodontist

Dr Vrochari holds a Masters of Science in Endodontics and a Doctor of Medical Dentistry, bringing an internationally trained specialist perspective to the Smile Solutions endodontic team.

Dr Ryan Sherry General Dentist with Special Interest in Endodontics

Alongside the specialist team, Dr Ryan Sherry is a highly experienced general dentist with a focused interest in endodontics. He manages many root canal cases within the general dentistry framework, offering a personalised treatment pathway with slightly different pricing while working to the same clinical standards as the rest of the practice.

Endodontic services

Root canal therapy

Root canal therapy is the core of endodontic care. Treatment involves removing the infected or inflamed pulp tissue, shaping the canals to allow thorough cleaning, disinfecting the system with antibacterial irrigants, then filling and sealing the canals with a biocompatible material to prevent reinfection. A temporary filling is placed first, with a permanent restoration — most often a crown — fitted afterwards to protect the tooth long term.

At Smile Solutions, all root canal procedures performed by specialist endodontists use surgical operating microscopes (described below), which give your clinician a far clearer view of the entire root canal system. This is state-of-the-art care, delivered with a gentle approach.

Endodontic retreatment

When a previous root canal hasn't fully resolved an infection, or a tooth that was treated earlier develops new concerns, retreatment may be the right path. This means removing the existing root canal filling material, reassessing and retreating the canal system, and resealing it. Retreatment cases are often more complex than primary treatment, which is exactly where specialist involvement makes a real difference.

Treatment of cracked teeth

Cracks can extend into the pulp chamber or root, causing pulpal inflammation and eventual necrosis. Cracked tooth syndrome is genuinely difficult to diagnose — symptoms are often intermittent and position-specific, making them easy to miss. The specialist endodontists at Smile Solutions are trained to identify and manage these cases with precision, which may involve root canal treatment combined with a protective crown.

Dental trauma management

Traumatic injuries — fractures, luxations (displacement), and avulsions (knocked-out teeth) — can damage or compromise the pulp. Specialist endodontic management of dental trauma follows evidence-based protocols to maximise the chances of pulp survival where possible, and to provide timely root canal treatment where pulp necrosis has occurred or is expected. Prompt, expert care in these situations can significantly affect your long-term outcome.

Periapical surgery (apicoectomy)

In some cases, root canal therapy or retreatment alone can't fully resolve a periapical infection — particularly where there's a complex lesion at the root tip, or where the canal system can't be adequately accessed from above. Periapical surgery involves a small, carefully planned surgical approach through the gum to remove infected tissue and the very tip of the root, followed by a retrograde seal. The procedure is performed under local anaesthesia with the operating microscope, ensuring precision throughout.

Internal bleaching

Teeth that have been traumatised or have had root canal treatment can darken from within, leaving a stained appearance that external bleaching can't fix. Internal bleaching places a whitening agent inside the tooth to lighten it from the inside out — a conservative, effective option for managing discolouration in non-vital teeth.

Technology: operating microscopes

One of the defining features of specialist endodontic practice at Smile Solutions is the use of surgical operating microscopes. The team works with Carl Zeiss and Seiler operating microscopes — instruments that provide high-magnification, high-quality illumination of the root canal system.

At the magnification levels used in endodontics, your clinician can identify canal orifices, locate calcified or missed canals, detect cracks, and assess cleaning and obturation quality in ways that simply aren't possible with the naked eye or loupes. Operating microscope use is the gold standard in specialist endodontic practice, and it's standard for every specialist endodontic procedure at Smile Solutions.

The practice also uses the Dentsply X-Smart endomotor — a precision electronic instrument for shaping root canals with nickel-titanium rotary files — allowing more consistent, accurate canal preparation with reduced procedural risk.

Consultation and treatment fees

Consultations

• Up to 3 teeth assessed: $200 AUD (approximately 30 minutes)
• 4 or more teeth assessed: $350 AUD (approximately 60 minutes)

Root canal treatment by specialist endodontist

• Anterior (front) tooth: $2,900 – $3,100 AUD
• Premolar: $3,100 – $3,300 AUD
• Molar: $3,400 – $3,600 AUD
• Periapical surgery (apicoectomy): $2,100 – $2,500 AUD

Root canal treatment by general dentist (Dr Ryan Sherry)

• Anterior (front) tooth: $2,300 – $2,500 AUD
• Premolar: $2,500 – $2,750 AUD
• Molar: $2,800 – $3,000 AUD

Emergency extirpation

• Emergency removal of the infected pulp to relieve acute pain is capped at $900 AUD.

No referral is required to see our endodontists. You can book directly by calling us or reaching out online.

Root canal health and systemic wellbeing

Research continues to build a clearer picture of the relationship between oral infection and systemic health. Periapical infections — the kind root canal treatment addresses — are bacterial in origin and can contribute to chronic low-grade systemic inflammation when left untreated or inadequately treated. Failing root canals act as bacterial reservoirs, and the immune burden they create has been discussed in the context of cardiovascular health, inflammatory conditions, and broader longevity research.

At Smile Solutions, endodontics is seen as integral to your overall health, not just your dental health. Saving an infected tooth thoroughly isn't merely a functional decision — it's a health decision, and one the team takes seriously.

Why Smile Solutions?

Smile Solutions was founded in 1993 by Dr Kia Pajouhesh and has grown into Australia's largest single-location private dental practice, with more than 40 dental suites across five floors and the tower of the historic Manchester Unity Building at 220 Collins Street, Melbourne. The team includes more than 20 board-registered specialists who collaborate daily across specialties, so your care draws on the collective expertise of the entire practice.

Patients have rated Smile Solutions 4.9 stars across 937 Google reviews, reflecting consistent, high-quality care across every discipline.

Payment plans through Payright, Humm, or MyDentaPlan are available to help make specialist endodontic care accessible. Complimentary consultations may be available for certain treatment pathways — ask the team when you call.

To book a consultation with one of our specialist endodontists, call 13 13 96 or visit us at 220 Collins Street, Melbourne.

The Smile Solutions Group — Referral network

The Collins Street Specialist Centre receives referrals from both Smile Solutions and Core Dental locations across Melbourne, giving patients throughout the group access to specialist care wherever they are in the city.

Core Dental is the suburban arm of the Smile Solutions Group, operating across 7 locations in metropolitan Melbourne. Patients at any Core Dental practice who need specialist endodontic treatment are referred directly to the Collins Street Specialist Centre at Level 8, Manchester Unity Building, 220 Collins Street. This integrated referral pathway means you won't need to navigate external specialist practices on your own — your care is coordinated from your local Core Dental practice through to the specialist team.

Phone: (03) 9650 2726.