Endodontist
Training & credentials
- Specialty Endodontics — root canal treatment
- Specialty certificate Endodontics, 2012
- Dental degree DMD, Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine (2010)
- First qualification Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia (1997)
- Professional body Active member, American Association of Endodontists
- Previously Faculty member teaching undergraduates, Nova Southeastern University
Root canals are the whole of his practice
A general dentist performs root canals among everything else they do. An endodontist performs them all day. That difference in repetition is the reason a difficult case — a curved canal, a tooth that has been treated once already, a molar that keeps flaring up — goes better in a specialist’s hands, and it is why patients are often surprised by how ordinary the appointment turns out to be.
A long route to the specialty
Dr. Español qualified in dentistry at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1997. In 2002 he moved to the United States intending to have his Colombian degree recognised here, joined Nova Southeastern University as a faculty member teaching undergraduate students, and earned his DMD there in 2010. It was during that training that endodontics became the thing he wanted to do exclusively; he completed his specialty in 2012.
He is an active member of the American Association of Endodontists and travels to conferences internationally to keep up with the instruments and imaging that have changed this specialty considerably in the last decade. He is also, for patients who would rather not discuss a painful tooth in a second language, a native Spanish speaker.
What he treats here
- Root canal treatment, including molars and difficult anatomy
- Retreatment of a root canal done previously elsewhere
- Diagnosis of persistent tooth pain where the cause is not obvious
Outside the office
Dr. Español travels, plays tennis, and spends his free time with his family. He is the kind of person who makes friends everywhere he goes, which is a useful trait in someone whose job is meeting people on the worst dental day of their year.
About Dr. Español
Questions patients ask
What is an endodontist?
An endodontist is a dental specialist in the inside of the tooth — the pulp and the root canals. It takes two to three years of training beyond dental school, and root canal treatment is essentially all they do.
Do I need a referral to see Dr. Español?
No. He treats patients in our Royal Palm Beach office, so you can book directly. If you are already a patient here, your general dentist brings him in and he works from the x-rays already in your chart.
Does a root canal hurt?
The toothache that sends people in is usually far worse than the treatment that fixes it. The tooth is fully numbed, and most patients say the appointment felt much like having a filling done.
Can he redo a root canal that failed?
Yes. Retreating a root canal performed previously somewhere else is routine specialist work. He will image the tooth first to establish why the original treatment did not settle, because that determines whether retreatment is the right answer.