“How long does a root canal take?”

Hello, this treatment can take from 1.5 hours to two hours and depends on the case. Thank you for your question.

It depends on the number of roots in the tooth. Usually about an hour or more.

Time varies based on many factors. How many canals, how tight are the canals, location of the tooth, can you keep your mouth open all the way, are you fidgeting and moving, how long to get numb, the ability of the dentist, specialist (endodontist) or a general dentist, how bad is the infections, is it a redo of an old root canal.... Most endodontists can correctly treat teeth in one or two visits, but some may require more. How quickly can you heal, do you need surgery also, are you on an assembly line or going to someone who takes their time to do it right the first time so it doesn't have to be done over.... Let your endodontist evaluate it so that he can tell you approximately how long it takes. (In my office, all appointments are 1 hour long and as many visits as necessary to do it right the first time so it doesn't have to be done over.)

Depends on the tooth, shape of the canals, infection, the operator, etc. We tend to schedule root canal appointments for an hour, but they can take multiple visits - quite common.

Depending on case complexity an hour to 2 hours and might require more than one visit.

You would need to ask your doctor as every procedure is different and the assessment of the tooth would determine the amount of time needed.

Brett E. Gilbert, D.D.S.

If the root canal is done by a qualified endodontist, it should take between 60 and 90 minutes.

The time it takes to do a root canal varies as to which tooth it is. If it is a front tooth it will probably take an hour, whereas a molar may take anywhere from and hour and a half to two hours.