What the role does
An endodontist is a dentist with additional postgraduate training focused on the tooth's pulp and root canal system. Day to day, the work is mostly referral-based: root canal treatment on molars and other hard cases, retreatments of failed root canals, apicoectomies (surgical root-end procedures), traumatic dental injuries, and diagnosis of tooth pain that general dentists can't pin down. Most patients arrive already numbed on the idea of a root canal and just need it done well, in one or two visits, with a microscope and modern rotary instrumentation.
In a South Florida practice, an endodontist typically works alongside general dentists who send cases over rather than building their own patient base from scratch. Some positions are employed, some are associate-to-partner tracks, and a growing number are traveling roles covering two or three general offices across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach on different days of the week.
Ideal qualifications
- DMD or DDS degree from an accredited dental school
- Completion of a CODA-accredited postgraduate endodontics residency (typically two to three years)
- Comfort with dental operating microscopes, CBCT imaging, and rotary/reciprocating file systems
- Experience managing anxious or trauma patients and coordinating with referring general dentists
- Board certification through the American Board of Endodontics is not required to practice but is often preferred by group practices and viewed favorably by referral sources
Licensing and certification in Florida
To practice dentistry in Florida, including endodontics, a dentist must hold an active license issued under Fla. Stat. Chapter 466 and must meet the Florida Board of Dentistry's rules under Chapter 64B5 of the Florida Administrative Code. Florida does not issue a separate "endodontist license." Instead, a dentist who wants to hold out as a specialist — using the title "endodontist" in advertising, signage, or a job title — must meet the Board's specialty-announcement requirements, which call for completion of an accredited postgraduate program in the specialty (see 64B5-14, the Board's specialty announcement rule). A dentist practicing endodontic procedures without meeting that rule can still perform the treatment under a general license but should not advertise as a specialist. Anyone prescribing controlled substances also needs a separate federal DEA registration; that's a federal requirement, not a state dental rule.
Pay in the Miami metro
Pay varies; the posts below show current offers. Endodontist compensation swings widely by arrangement — daily rate for traveling clinicians, percentage of collections for associates, or salary plus bonus for employed roles — so a single published range would be misleading without knowing the structure of a specific offer.
Schedule and setting
Most endodontist roles run three to five clinical days a week, often split across more than one office to fill a referral pipeline. A single office might not generate enough root canal referrals to keep one endodontist fully booked, so it's common to see a Tuesday/Thursday schedule at one practice and a different set of days at another, sometimes across county lines (a Miami-Dade office early in the week, a Broward or Palm Beach office later). Cases are usually single-visit when possible, with blocks set aside for retreatments and surgical cases that run longer. Expect standard infection control protocols, a microscope at each chair, and CBCT either in-house or via referral for a scan.
Interview questions
- Walk me through how you decide between retreatment, surgery, and extraction on a failed root canal.
- How many molar cases do you typically complete in a full clinical day?
- What rotary or reciprocating file systems are you trained on, and do you have a preference?
- How do you handle a referring dentist's patient who develops a post-treatment complication?
- What's your approach to no-shows and same-day emergency referrals from multiple offices?
- How do you document informed consent when a patient is deciding between retreatment and extraction?
Career path
Most endodontists start as an associate, either employed or on a percentage-of-collections arrangement, while building relationships with referring general dentists. From there, paths split: some move toward ownership or partnership in a single location, some build a multi-office traveling practice across several counties, and some move toward part-time clinical work combined with teaching at a dental school. Board certification through the American Board of Endodontics is a common mid-career step that can support advertising as a specialist and can matter to referral sources and group practices evaluating candidates.
Where to train locally
For the postgraduate residency itself, Nova Southeastern University's College of Dental Medicine offers an advanced education program in endodontics, and the University of Florida in Gainesville also runs a CODA-accredited endodontics residency for dentists coming from anywhere in the state, including South Florida. Miami Dade College and Broward College do not offer endodontic specialty training; their dental programs are focused on hygiene and assisting. Continuing education in microscope technique, CBCT interpretation, and updated file systems is widely available through the specialty's professional associations and postgraduate program alumni networks.
Working through Miami Dentist
If you're hiring, post a job and describe the referral volume, schedule structure, and whether the role is single-office or multi-site — endodontist candidates weigh that heavily. If you're looking for work, search openings or go straight to a county page: Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach.