Pulpitis is inflammation of the dental pulp — the soft tissue holding the nerve and blood supply inside your tooth. It is the pain painkillers stop touching and that gets worse the moment you lie down. At Corona Dental pulpitis is treated to a current protocol: the pulp comes out at the same appointment under anaesthetic, with no devitalising pastes and no sending you home for days with a dying nerve. Walk in with acute pain and we look for a gap in the day's list.
from €190root canal treatment
1–3 visitsdepending on the canals
same dayfor acute pain
since 2009in Barcelona
What pulpitis treatment costs in Barcelona
| Treatment |
Price |
| Root canal treatment |
from €190 |
| Root canal retreatment |
from €220 |
| Root canal treatment under the microscope |
from €390 |
| Retreatment under the microscope |
from €420 |
| First appointment with examination and X-ray |
€50 |
| White filling |
from €90 |
The range comes down to the anatomy of the tooth and the state of its canals.
| Factor |
How it affects the price |
| Number of canals |
One in a front tooth, three or four in a molar, sometimes five. Every canal has to be located, shaped, disinfected and sealed on its own |
| Anatomy |
Curved, narrow or partly calcified canals take more time and more instruments than straight, patent ones |
| First time or repeat |
Retreatment always costs more: part of the appointment goes on undoing what was done before |
| With or without the microscope |
Depends on the case, and it is decided with the X-ray in front of us |
| How the crown is rebuilt |
A filling is included in the root canal fee; an onlay or a crown, where the tooth is badly broken down, is quoted separately |
Anaesthetic, rubber dam, every image taken along the way and the clinician's time are already inside that number — no separate lines appear later. Spanish VAT does not apply to dental care given for diagnosis or treatment, so what is quoted at the start is what settles the bill. You leave the first appointment with the plan written out tooth by tooth. Remaining fees sit on the price list.
What pulpitis is
Inside every tooth, under the enamel and the dentine, sits a chamber filled with soft tissue: the dental pulp. It is made of blood vessels, nerve fibres and connective tissue that feed the tooth from within and give it sensation. When infection reaches that chamber the dental pulp becomes inflamed, and that inflammation is pulpitis.
Put simply: while decay is working its way through enamel and dentine, the tooth reacts briefly to sweet things or to cold. The moment bacteria reach the dental pulp, pulpitis sets in and the character of the pain shifts — it starts arriving unprompted, and tablets stop making much difference.
What makes the pulp particular is that it is sealed inside rigid walls. Inflamed tissue anywhere else in the body has somewhere to swell; here there is nowhere to go. The swelling presses on the nerve endings from the inside, and that is where the throbbing comes from — the sensation patients describe as the tooth having a pulse. For the same reason pulpitis almost never settles by itself: the pressure cuts off the blood supply, the tissue dies, and the infection carries on towards the tip of the root.
What causes pulpitis
Untreated decayThe main one. The cavity reaches the dental pulp and bacteria get straight into the inside of the tooth
Decay under an old fillingIt advances in a closed space: the tooth looks dealt with from outside while the infection closes in on the nerve
Cracks and traumaA fracture of the crown or root, a crack, or a knock can open the chamber or tear the vessels without anything showing
BruxismClenching and grinding wear the enamel away, leave dentine exposed and irritate the dental pulp year after year
Repeated work on one toothA deep restoration close to the pulp can leave it irritated: sometimes it settles, sometimes the inflammation builds
Infection from the gumWith deep periodontal pockets bacteria reach the root tip from outside, never passing through the crown at all
The risk factors for pulpitis are the ones that drive decay in the first place: poor cleaning, sugar arriving often through the day, and skipped check-ups. Add to those contact sport without a mouthguard, erosion and heavy tooth wear, and the habit of biting hard objects. These risk factors stack; it is rare for only one to be at work.
Symptoms of pulpitis
The symptoms of pulpitis are not told apart from those of decay by how strong the pain is, but by how it behaves. Lingering pain is the signature of pulpitis; brief sensitivity is not.
| Sign |
What it means |
| Spontaneous pain |
The tooth starts hurting on its own, with nothing eaten or drunk. With decay, something always sets the pain off |
| It comes in waves |
On and off. As the pulpitis progresses the quiet gaps shorten and the episodes stretch out |
| Worse at night |
Lying down increases blood flow to the head and raises the pressure inside the chamber. The classic sign, and the one patients volunteer themselves |
| Lingering pain |
You drink something cold and it still aches ten or fifteen minutes later. With a healthy pulp the reaction fades in a couple of seconds |
| It radiates |
To the jaw, the ear or the temple. It is hard to place and the patient cannot say with confidence which tooth it is — that is the course of the trigeminal nerve |
| Reaction to heat |
A warning sign: in purulent pulpitis heat sets the pain off and cold briefly relieves it |
| Pain on biting |
Discomfort when chewing or tapping the tooth usually means the process has already moved past the root tip |
| The tooth darkens |
A grey or brown shade, often with swelling of the gum nearby. It generally means the pulp has already died |
Is it pulpitis or deep decay?
The question people ask themselves at two in the morning with a phone in their hand. The dentist settles it with an X-ray and vitality testing of the tooth, but three things point the way.
The glass of water testIf a cold sip calms the tooth rather than irritating it, suspect the purulent form and do not wait
The pillow testIf lying down makes it worse and sitting up eases it, the pressure inside the tooth is already high
The pointing testPoint to the tooth without hesitating and it is usually decay; name half your face and the nerve is involved
The practical conclusion is one: if pain arrives on its own and keeps you awake, a filling is no longer the answer. That is not cause for alarm, but it is not a reason to wait for Monday either — the sooner the chamber is opened and the pressure released, the calmer the treatment goes.
Reversible and irreversible pulpitis
This is the split in pulpitis that everything else hangs on, because it decides whether the tooth keeps its nerve.
| Type |
How it behaves |
What is done |
| Reversible |
Brief sensitivity to cold, sweet things or air that settles as soon as the stimulus goes. No spontaneous pain, nothing at night. The X-ray shows no change at the root tip |
The decay comes out, the pulp is protected, and the tooth stays vital |
| Irreversible |
Pain lingering minutes after the stimulus, waking you at night, or coming with no trigger at all. The pulp can no longer recover |
Root canal treatment: the inflamed tissue is removed and the canals sealed |
| Pulp death |
The pain has gone because the tissue has died. The tooth may darken |
Root canal treatment too, and with more urgency: the infection is already heading for the bone |
Once the dental pulp is irreversibly inflamed, conservative measures stop being worth attempting. Keeping it only buys a few weeks, and the treatment ends up being done anyway, this time on a flared-up tooth.
Acute and chronic forms of pulpitis
| Form |
How it presents |
| Acute, early |
Inflammation limited to the part of the pulp nearest the cavity. Short episodes of ten to twenty minutes with the tooth quiet in between |
| Acute purulent |
Pus collects in the chamber. Throbbing pain that barely lets up, set off by heat and briefly calmed by cold. This is the one seen outside the appointment book |
| Chronic, fibrous |
The commonest chronic form. Pulp tissue is gradually replaced by connective tissue and there is little to report: an ache with sudden temperature changes, and that is all |
| Chronic, with necrosis |
The pulp breaks down. Reaction to heat and a bad smell coming from the tooth. Through the quiet spells it may give no trouble at all |
| Chronic, hyperplastic |
Tissue grows out and fills the cavity, bleeding when chewing or brushing. Mostly in younger patients whose crown is heavily broken down |
Chronic pulpitis is the more treacherous of the two forms. It barely hurts, you assume the problem has passed, and meanwhile the inflammation makes its way to the bone. It flares at the worst possible time — on a trip, or over a bank holiday.
Can there be pulpitis without pain, or without decay?
Both questions come up constantly, and the answer to both is yes.
Without pain. Chronic pulpitis often runs almost silently, particularly once the nerve fibres have died and there is nothing left to react. That tooth turns up on a routine X-ray or while planning a crown. No pain is not a sign of health here — it is a sign the pulp has stopped reporting.
Without decay. This happens too. Infection gets in through a crack after an injury, along the margin of an old restoration, or from a deep periodontal pocket. A case of its own is the tooth that darkens a year or two after a knock: the pulp died when the vessels tore at the moment of impact, and there is not a mark on the surface.
How pulpitis is diagnosed in Barcelona
A diagnosis of pulpitis does not rest on the account of the pain: patients often point at a sound tooth because the ache refers.
| Method |
What it shows |
| Periapical X-ray |
How deep the cavity goes and how close it sits to the pulp, how many canals there are and where they run, and the state of the bone around the root tip. Included in the first appointment |
| Vitality testing |
The decisive test in pulpitis. A short reaction means the dental pulp is alive and salvageable; pain lingering after cold means the inflammation is irreversible; a reaction to heat points to the purulent or necrotic form |
| Percussion |
Tapping the crown gently. If that hurts, the process has passed the root tip into bone — which is periapical periodontitis rather than pulpitis alone |
| Probing |
How the floor of the cavity and the canal entrances respond, and whether the cavity communicates with the pulp chamber |
| CBCT scan |
Not used in every case: it is kept for suspected extra canals, curved roots and retreatments. More on the imaging page |
Pulpitis treatment step by step
1
AnaestheticGel on the gum first, then the injection. With acute inflammation the tissues turn acidic and the anaesthetic works less well, so we wait for full effect and top up where needed.
2
Rubber dam isolationThe sheet that separates the tooth from the rest of the mouth. This is not about comfort but sterility: saliva carries bacteria, and if it gets into an open canal it undoes the whole disinfection.
3
Access to the canalsAffected tissue comes out and the pulp chamber is opened. The shape of the access is worked out so the instrument enters each canal without bending.
4
Removing the pulpThe inflamed tissue is taken from the crown and the roots. From the moment the chamber is opened the pressure drops and the pain goes, right there in the chair.
5
Working lengthAn apex locator finds where the canal ends. Stop short and infection stays behind; go past and material is pushed beyond the tip. The reading is confirmed on an X-ray.
6
Shaping and disinfectionThe canals are shaped and irrigated with disinfectant. Filing without irrigation achieves little: no instrument reaches the side branches.
7
SealingThe canals are filled with gutta-percha and sealer. A check X-ray confirms the material reaches full length and is dense all the way.
8
Rebuilding the crownA filling at the same appointment, or where the tooth is badly broken down, a temporary restoration and then an onlay or crown.
We do not use devitalising pastes — the ones that send you home for a few days with the nerve dying in your mouth. The pulp comes out at the same appointment under anaesthetic: it is shorter, more predictable, and leaves no room for the paste to work somewhere it should not.
Can the nerve be saved in reversible pulpitis?
Sometimes, and it is worth discussing before the tooth is opened. In pulpitis the chance exists at the earliest stage, while inflammation is confined to the part of the pulp next to the cavity. A material based on calcium hydroxide or MTA goes on the floor of the cavity, a temporary filling seals it, and the response is reviewed a few weeks later. If no spontaneous pain has appeared, the permanent restoration goes in.
The criteria are strict: a short reaction to cold, no night pain, an X-ray clear at the root tip, and a younger patient. With spontaneous, lingering pain there is nothing to preserve.
Root canal treatment under the microscope in Barcelona
In pulpitis treatment magnification does not improve the work on its own: in a patent canal the outcome is the same either way. It solves particular problems, so we offer the microscope where it changes the result rather than as a default.
Worth itWhen something has to be recovered that the naked eye cannot find: a canal closed off with age, a suspect wall, a fragment left inside
Not neededA first root canal in a patent tooth with one or two canals, wide canals in younger patients, a clear X-ray
Which applies is visible on the X-ray, and the difference in price is talked through before anything starts. Paying for magnification where it adds nothing makes no sense.
Anaesthetic for pulpitis treatment
Pulpitis is treated under local anaesthetic, and this is the case where its quality decides everything. Acute pulpitis makes the tissues acidic and the usual dose works less well. So we do not begin until the tooth is numb through, topping up into the ligament or directly into the pulp chamber if that is what it takes.
Sedation and general anaesthetic are not on our list: this practice works with local anaesthetic and nothing else. With a marked dental phobia it is worth saying so when booking. For ordinary nerves what helps is agreeing a hand signal beforehand that stops the work on the spot.
How many visits pulpitis takes
| Situation |
Visits |
Time |
| Single-canal tooth |
Usually one |
60–90 minutes |
| Two or three canals |
One or two |
90 minutes upwards |
| Four canals, difficult anatomy |
Two or three |
60–90 minutes each |
| Purulent form |
Two or more |
medication stays inside between visits |
One appointment is enough when the pulpitis has not left the tooth and the canals are patent. Splitting it over two is not stalling — it gives the disinfectant time to work where no instrument reaches.
Rebuilding the tooth after root canal treatment
A root-treated tooth changes. With no dental pulp it gets no supply of its own, turns drier and more brittle, and the access to the canals had to be cut from its own structure, so the walls are thinner. A back tooth in that state eventually splits, and the fracture tends to run below the gum.
That is why the crown gets protected. A front tooth without much damage is restored with composite. A molar needs something that spreads the biting load across the weakened walls — an onlay or a crown, both made in our own laboratory. More on the dental prosthetics page.
Tenderness when biting for the first few days is normal: the ligament around the root has had an hour of vibration through it. The test that separates ordinary from not is simple — expected soreness gets less every day. If tomorrow hurts more than today, ring us.
Root canal retreatment in Barcelona
In Barcelona retreatment is needed when the first attempt did not work out: the canal was sealed short of the tip, one of them was never found, the material shrank, or infection got back in through a restoration that stopped sealing. It shows up as pain on biting, a swelling on the gum or a sinus tract, though more often it appears on an X-ray with no complaint attached.
The work is harder than a first treatment: the old restoration comes off, the filling material is taken out, sometimes a post with it, and only then is the canal shaped again. Hence the fee — from €220, and from €420 with the microscope.
There are situations where retreatment is not worth it: a vertical root fracture, a perforated wall, a canal blocked by a separated instrument. Then it is more honest to discuss extraction and an implant than to spend money on a tooth that will not last.
What happens if pulpitis is left untreated
Pulpitis does not clear up on its own, and from there everything is predictable.
The pain stopsThe most misleading moment of all. The pulp has died and there is nothing left to send signals, so you assume it passed
Periapical periodontitisInfection leaves the root tip for the bone. Biting starts to hurt and the tooth feels as though it has grown
Cyst or granulomaA lesion forms at the root tip, grows for years without symptoms and eats away the surrounding bone
AbscessPus breaks through under the periosteum: a swollen face, a temperature, something that needs seeing to immediately
Losing the toothOnce there is no bone left around the root the tooth comes out, and the conversation moves on to replacing it
The difference is in the timescale. Pulpitis takes one to three visits; periapical periodontitis takes longer and carries a worse prognosis; and an extracted tooth is replaced with an implant, which is not comparable in money or in months.
Pulpitis in baby teeth
In children pulpitis moves faster: enamel and dentine on a baby tooth are thinner and the pulp chamber is proportionally bigger. From the first complaint to the nerve being involved takes weeks, not months.
There is a widespread idea that a baby tooth is not worth treating because it will fall out anyway. But the permanent tooth is forming underneath, and a pocket of infection at the root of the baby tooth can damage the enamel of the one coming through before it even appears. A tooth lost early also leaves a gap that the neighbours drift into.
Children's protocols are their own: often the root part of the pulp is kept and only the crown portion removed, using materials that resorb along with the root as the tooth is shed. These cases are seen by our paediatric dentist at a separate clinic.
The dentist's view
Why I redo other people's canals as often as I do my own
Count a month of my list and the retreatments roughly equal the first-time cases. That is not a comment on anyone's workmanship.
The most frequent finding on an X-ray is a canal sealed two-thirds of the way: it looks tidy, but bacteria are still living in the remaining third. Second is a canal nobody found. Upper first molars often have four, and the fourth is narrow and tucked into the wall. A tooth like that can stay quiet for years and then start hurting on biting.
The third reason has nothing to do with canals at all. The tooth was treated well, then left under a temporary filling for a month, or a molar was closed with a plain filling and no crown. Six months on the restoration leaks, infection gets back in from above, and the whole job is cancelled out.
Hence what I ask of patients: do not put off rebuilding the crown. Root canal treatment does not end when the canals are sealed. It ends when the tooth is sealed from above.
Dentist, endodontist
17 years in practice
Preventing pulpitis
Pulpitis has no prevention of its own: it is nearly always the end of a decay story, and decay is what has to be stopped.
A check-up every six monthsAt that interval decay is found long before any pulpitis develops
Treat it promptlyBetween a €90 filling and a root canal there are a few months of waiting, nothing more
Keep an eye on old fillingsRestorations over five to seven years old get an X-ray at the check-up: underneath, decay advances quietly
Clean between the teethLast thing at night and before brushing, so the paste gets into the gaps you have just opened
A night guard for grindingMeasured at one appointment and ready within the week; it is worn only at night
A custom mouthguardThe shop-bought one will do at a push; one made over a model is tolerated better and does not shift when you talk
Who we treat in Barcelona
Anyone in acute painWe look for a slot the same day in Barcelona: even if the full root canal waits for another date, the pressure comes off now
ReferralsIf your dentist does not do canals, we treat the pulpitis in Barcelona and send you back to them
Retreatment casesWith X-rays and notes from another practice, including from another country
Newly arrived in SpainWhere the treatment started elsewhere and has to carry on here
ChildrenBaby teeth go to the paediatric dentist, with different materials and a different approach
No language barrierWe work in English, Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian: you will not be describing the pain in sign language
Finding the practice
The practice occupies the ground floor of c/ Entença, 69, between Gran Via and Avinguda de Roma, with the Rocafort exit of metro line L1 two minutes away. With a tooth throbbing the journey counts: it decides how many hours until the episode is stopped.
| Address |
c/ Entença, 69 · 08015 Barcelona |
| Metro |
Rocafort and Urgell (L1), Tarragona (L3), Entença (L5) |
| Hours |
Mon–Thu 10:00 to 19:00, Fri 9:00 to 18:00 |
| Parking |
calle Entença, 61 |
Where people travel in from with toothache
| Coming from |
Route |
| Neighbouring districts |
Sant Antoni, Poble-sec, Hostafrancs and Sants are a quarter of an hour on foot |
| L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Santa Coloma |
The L1 runs straight through; get off at Rocafort |
| Cornellà, Esplugues, Sant Joan Despí |
L5 to the station of the same name, then down the street |
| Sant Boi, Pallejà, Martorell, Igualada |
FGC to Espanya and one metro stop |
| El Prat, Castelldefels, Gavà, Sitges |
Rodalies to Sants station and change onto the L1 |
| Badalona, Mataró, Terrassa, Sabadell |
Any suburban line into Sants or Plaça Catalunya |
Travelling in with pain? Message us before you set off. We will tell you whether there is a slot today so the journey is not wasted.
Why have pulpitis treated at Corona Dental
Imaging on siteThe X-ray room is in the practice, so an extra check halfway through the work does not cost you another appointment.
The tooth is opened onceWhat starts in a session finishes in it, unless there is a clinical reason not to.
Nothing extra on the invoiceWhatever gets used during the appointment is already counted; no lines appear at the end.
Acute pain comes in off-scheduleWe look for a slot the same day to stop the episode.
In-house laboratoryThe onlay or crown that follows is made here, with nobody in between.
Fixed price beforehandQuoted after the examination and the X-ray, before any work begins.
Cases
Section in preparation.
Common questions
Which dentist treats pulpitis?
Pulpitis is treated by a general dentist and, in complicated cases, by an endodontist — the one who works specifically with canals. The difference tells where there are many canals, where they curve, or where the tooth has been treated before.
Do painkillers help with pulpitis?
They cut the episode but treat no pulpitis: the source stays inside the tooth. As the process advances they last less and less, and eventually stop working. A tablet is a way of getting to the appointment, not a substitute for one.
How long can it be left?
It should not be left at all, but if the question is days: while the pain comes in waves and the tooth is not sore to tapping, you have a few. Once biting hurts, the face swells or a temperature appears, the infection is out of the tooth and waiting is no longer an option.
Can pulpitis be treated at home?
No. Against pulpitis rinses do not reach the nerve, and heat is actively contraindicated: it increases swelling inside a sealed chamber and the pain grows. No hot compresses, no warming the cheek. The only sensible things before the appointment are your usual painkiller and avoiding hot drinks.
Do antibiotics clear it up?
Not on their own. Once the dental pulp is irreversibly inflamed there is no blood supply left to carry an antibiotic into it, which is why tablets alone do not settle the tooth. They have a place alongside treatment in some cases — never instead of it.
Is taking the nerve out dangerous?
Not in itself: it is how a tooth that would otherwise be extracted gets kept. But a root-treated tooth is more brittle and darkens over time, which is why back teeth are covered with a crown or onlay and front teeth are restored allowing for the change of shade.
How long does a tooth last after root canal treatment?
With the canals well sealed and the crown closed in good time, decades. What usually fails is not the canals but the top: a leaking restoration lets infection back in and the tooth needs retreating.
Can pulpitis be treated during pregnancy?
Yes, and putting it off is the riskier option: a purulent inflammation is not a threat to the tooth alone. The appointment is adapted to the trimester, so mention the pregnancy when you book and the order of things is planned differently.
What does pulpitis treatment cost in Barcelona?
In Barcelona from €190, and two things move that figure up: how many roots the tooth has and whether somebody has already worked inside it. A front tooth sits at the bottom of the range, a retreated upper molar at the top. The table on this page sets out all four options.
Book an appointment for pulpitis
Pulpitis here is seen by appointment. Send us a message on WhatsApp and we will tell you whether today needs to be an emergency slot, and the figure, before you travel.
Message us on WhatsApp c/ Entença, 69 · Barcelona · Mon–Thu 10:00–19:00 · Fri 9:00–18:00
Written for information only; it stands in for no appointment. Diagnosis and planning follow an examination by the treating clinician. Fees as at 2026. Registro sanitario E08706004.
