From diagnosis to defensible practice: build the clinical judgment and practical skills to diagnose, plan, and deliver endodontic care to the standard of care.
Facilitated by Dr. Natalia Melo, Dr. Jacqueline Lopez Gross & Dr. Jorge Moreno
Developed through a collaboration between the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University and the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO).
Move from endodontic diagnosis and treatment planning fundamentals to three days of hands-on practice in the Schulich Dentistry Simulation Clinic — within one cohesive program designed for immediate clinical application.
Diagnosis · Treatment planning
Case study · Applied decision-making
Translate evidence into defensible endodontic diagnosis and treatment planning.
Refine technique across three days of guided practice in the simulation clinic.
Strengthen documentation, informed consent, and defensibility of care.
A focused live-online lecture day that connects evidence-informed endodontic diagnosis, treatment planning, documentation, and professional judgment.
A practice-oriented course designed to strengthen clinicians’ confidence in endodontic diagnosis, treatment planning, and decision-making in everyday practice. The course emphasizes contemporary terminology, evidence-informed concepts, and practical protocols that support consistent, defensible, and standards-based endodontic care in the general dental setting.
Participants will explore systematic pulpal and periapical tests and diagnoses, endodontic treatment planning, case difficulty assessment, and principles of non-surgical root canal therapy. Key topics include management of endodontic emergencies, anesthesia and pain management, irrigation principles, vital pulp therapy, dental trauma, intracoronal bleaching, documentation and informed consent, and appropriate referral decision-making.
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be better able to:
Builds on the content delivered in the Fundamentals of Endodontics course. A comprehensive case study illustrates the key elements required to practice to the standard of care. Focused activities provide a step-by-step guide to participants as they work through endodontic diagnosis, treatment planning, and referral decision-making. Small groups encourage questions and discussion.
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be better able to:
The core subject areas covered across the Fundamentals and Applied sessions on Day 1.
Leave with a clearer, more consistent framework for endodontic diagnosis, treatment planning, assessing case difficulty, documenting care, and defending clinical decisions.
Building on the diagnosis, treatment planning, pain management, and case difficulty assessment covered on Day 1, this immersive workshop guides participants through the complete clinical sequence of nonsurgical root canal treatment.
Each workshop day (Days 2–4) opens with a one-hour lecture, followed by guided hands-on practice in which participants apply the clinical protocols and techniques taught that day.
The hands-on portion is tailored to each participant’s clinical experience and goals — including the teeth they choose to practise on:
Find the anatomy. Establish a predictable pathway.
Develop a systematic approach to access cavity preparation, canal-orifice location, canal negotiation, and working-length determination. Guided practice emphasizes preservation of tooth structure, management of cervical interferences, apical patency, and strategies for locating difficult or commonly missed canals.
Prepare safely. Clean effectively.
Learn the appropriate selection and use of mechanized instrumentation based on canal anatomy and case difficulty. Participants will practise crown-down preparation, working-length control, apical gauging, irrigation, chelation, and prevention of common procedural errors.
Complete treatment with confidence.
Translate canal preparation into predictable obturation. Participants will practise master-cone selection, root canal sealer placement, various obturation techniques, and radiographic assessment of the completed root canal filling. The session also addresses coronal sealing, restoration of the root-filled tooth, retreatment, and endodontic surgery considerations.
Link provided 2–3 days prior to the course.
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Western University · London, Ontario
Born in Brazil, Dr. Melo completed her DDS, specialized in Endodontics, and earned a Master’s degree in Integrated Clinical Dentistry before owning two private practices and working as an adjunct professor. She moved to Canada in 2018 to join Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, becoming Division Chair of Endodontics in 2022 with a full-time focus on education.
Since then, Dr. Melo has led multiple curriculum redesigns and remained active in accreditation and professional organizations including ACFD, AAE, and ADEA. Her commitment to teaching has earned her two education awards — local and national — and she recently completed her Master’s in Health Professions Education (MHPE), with a thesis on professionalism in undergraduate Canadian dental education.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Dr. Lopez Gross completed an Advanced Program in Endodontics at New York University in 2012 before earning her Master of Science in Endodontics from the University of Toronto in 2018. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada and has been recognized internationally for her research, receiving the “Best Oral Research Presentation” award at the American Association of Endodontists Annual Meeting in 2018 and a Research Award from the International College of Prosthodontists and IFEA in 2019.
Dr. Lopez Gross owns 562 Endodontics in London, Ontario, teaches in the Graduate Endodontic Program at the University of Toronto, serves as an Adjunct Clinical Professor at Western University, and volunteers at The Wright Clinic.
Dr. Moreno is a certified endodontist with over 25 years of experience in clinical practice and academia. After earning his DDS and completing specialty training with honours in Colombia, he was offered an employment opportunity and arrived to Canada in 2000. He served as Head of Endodontics at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry from 2002 to 2009. He continues to teach as a part-time clinical instructor and is passionate about mentoring colleagues. His clinical interests include dental trauma, and endodontic pain management. Since 2010, Dr. Moreno has owned and operated a successful multi-specialty dental practice in London, Ontario.
Schulich Continuing Dental Education gratefully acknowledges the unrestricted educational support provided for this course by Optik Medic, Dentsply Sirona, and Clinical Research Dental.
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