Conservative-first · Microscope-led · UK first-mover

Save the tooth, before you replace it — microscope root canal at GC Clinic.

In Istanbul’s Hollywood-smile landscape, endodontics is unusual. Most clinics extract teeth, place implants and earn more for it. Dr. Cansu Öztürk has chosen another route: endodontist with specialist training to ESE and AAE standards, with microscope-led root canal and retreatment as everyday work. Before we extract a tooth, we ask whether we can save it. In about seven cases out of ten, the answer is yes.

The clinical hierarchy

Save first, replace later — not the other way round.

Dentistry has a clear biological hierarchy. A healthy natural tooth is always the first option. When damage occurs, you choose conservatively — filling, then endodontics, then prosthetic restoration on the natural tooth, and only then extraction and implant. This sequence is in mainstream UK dental guidance and in international endodontic consensus (ESE, AAE). It is the reason experienced clinicians do not extract first.

Caries-free · minimally invasive filling

Root canal · retreatment · tooth stays

Prevention / filling

Endodontics

Prosthetics

Extraction + implant

The uncomfortable truth

Why endodontic specialism is rare in Istanbul.

A microscope-led root canal takes ninety to one hundred and twenty minutes and earns a smile-makeover practice less than a crown or veneer. In one hour, a dentist can either irrigate a single canal — or prepare two teeth for crowns, convert the patient and accept the next case. In the maths of sixteen veneers versus two endo sittings, the choice for a commercial clinic is trivial. That is why “endodontics” almost never appears in the smile-makeover advertising.

Endodontics is a three-year postgraduate qualification. In Turkey there are roughly two to three hundred dentists with this specialist training — out of more than thirty thousand active dentists. Those who invest three years tend to stay in university clinics or specialist practices, not in tourist-volume smile clinics. Dr. Öztürk is one of the few who, after heading the Department of Endodontics at Yeni Yüzyıl University (2016–2019), moved into private boutique practice without abandoning the discipline.

If a Turkish clinic proposes extraction before a retreatment option has been considered, ask the questions. Is the practice endo-capable? Is there an operating microscope on site? Has the treating clinician completed postgraduate training in endodontics? At GC Clinic the answer is yes, yes and yes — which is why we save teeth that other practices would extract.

Qualifications · Dr. Cansu Öztürk

Endodontic credentials in detail.

Dr. Cansu Öztürk, DDS, MSc — endodontist with specialist training. Former Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Endodontics, Yeni Yüzyıl University, Istanbul (2016–2019). Member of the European Society of Endodontology (ESE), the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) and the Turkish Society of Endodontology (TED).

In the United Kingdom, the title “endodontist with specialist training” is reserved for dentists on the GDC Specialist List. Dr. Öztürk’s specialism is Turkish-trained and she is not on the UK GDC Specialist List. The formulation used throughout this site — “endodontist with specialist training” — reflects both her credentials and UK advertising standards.

Portrait — clinical work

DDS — Ege University Faculty of Dentistry · 2005–2010

MSc / specialist training in Endodontics — Marmara University · 2012–2016. Studied under Prof. Dr. Semih Özbayrak. Research focus: stem-cell applications and probiotics in endodontics, peer-reviewed publications.

Assistant Professor & Head of Department of Endodontics — Yeni Yüzyıl University · 2016–2019. Course leadership, doctoral supervision, clinical focus on micro-endodontics and retreatment.

Continuing professional education — micro-endodontics training at European university clinics; certified user of Zeiss OPMI operating microscope.

Memberships — ESE · AAE · TED · Istanbul Chamber of Dentists.

Indications

Six situations in which endodontics is the better choice.

Cold/hot sensitivity and throbbing pain. The nerve is inflamed; the tooth itself is structurally intact. Root canal treatment is the standard answer.

Chronic peri-apical inflammation, often without symptoms. Eighty to ninety-five per cent of cases can be saved with microscope endo. Extraction is not the first option.

An earlier root canal is failing. Under microscope, an overlooked canal, a perforation or a fractured instrument can usually be corrected.

01 · Pulpitis

Acute nerve inflammation

02 · Apical lesion

Dark spot at the root tip

03 · Retreatment

Failed prior root canal

04 · Four-canal molar

Complex anatomy

05 · Perforation

Iatrogenic damage

06 · Calcified canals

Age-related obliteration

Microscope endo protocol

Five steps · ninety to one hundred and twenty minutes per tooth.

Diagnosis with CBCT and electric vitality test

Cone-beam CT shows the anatomy in three dimensions — accessory canals, peri-apical lesions, fractured instruments. Vitality testing tells us whether the nerve is alive.

Rubber dam and microscope set-up

The dam isolates the tooth from the oral environment. Zeiss OPMI microscope at 4× to 25× magnification allows precision work that is not possible with the naked eye.

Cleaning and shaping the canals

Rotary nickel-titanium files (ProTaper Gold, WaveOne) shape the canals gently. Sodium hypochlorite irrigation disrupts the bacterial biofilm — that is the actual healing step.

Obturation with thermoplastic gutta-percha

The cleaned canal is sealed three-dimensionally with Guttaflow / BC Sealer. The aim is a bacteria-tight seal to the apex.

Post-endodontic restoration

The tooth is restored with a bonded composite or — when substance loss is large — a crown. Surgical procedures (complex implants, sinus lift, periodontology) are led by Dr. Engin Bakkal. Crowns and veneers remain in Dr. Öztürk’s clinical remit.

Success rates · evidence base

What the literature says about endodontic outcomes.

Root canal treatment is one of the best-documented procedures in dentistry. The numbers are clear — and they contradict the “extract immediately” narrative.

Microscope-led root canal at five years. Sources: Ng et al. 2011 (Int Endod J); Torabinejad et al. 2007 (JADA).

When prior endo has failed; with microscope access. Source: ESE consensus 2006, updated 2019.

85–95%

Primary endo success rate

70–85%

Retreatment success rate

10 yr+

Typical tooth survival

FAQ

What UK patients ask about root canal in Istanbul.

Does a root canal hurt?

No. Under adequate local anaesthesia, a root canal is no more painful than a filling. The reputation comes from techniques used decades ago. Today, patients who have had root canal treatment rate it comparably to fillings. Afterwards, two to three days of pressure sensitivity, well managed with ibuprofen.

How long does a root-canal-treated tooth last?

With adequate restoration (endo plus a crown or bonded composite) and good oral hygiene, typically ten to twenty-five years, often longer. A common misconception is that “the tooth is dead and will fall out”. It is non-vital (without a nerve) but structurally intact and can function for decades.

What does endo plus a crown cost at GC Clinic?

Typical: from £330 to £390 for the endo (depending on canal count and complexity); from £260 to £330 for an E-Max crown. Together usually £590–£720, with full written warranty (two years on the endodontic treatment, five years on the crown). UK private comparison: endo £450–£700, crown £550–£900 — total £1,000–£1,600.

How many visits does endo take?

Usually one to two visits in Istanbul (three to four days in total). Visit one: endo completed, provisional restoration. A follow-up periapical can be reviewed remotely two to four weeks later. Visit two: definitive crown (where indicated). Simple cases can finish in a single sitting.

Why not just have an implant? They are permanent.

Implants are an excellent solution — when the natural tooth genuinely cannot be saved. They can develop peri-implantitis (ten to twenty per cent at ten years), need adequate bone, lack proprioception and typically cost three to five times the price of an endo. The natural tooth is biologically superior. The implant should be the last step, not the first.

Next step

An X-ray is enough. We will tell you whether the tooth can be saved.

Free endodontic assessment, signed by Dr. Öztürk. In writing, in under four hours. Without an extraction-first bias.