Endodontics in Medina, Ohio
Gentle root canal care in Medina
From your first 3D scan to your final visit, board-certified endodontist Dr. Nivine El-Refai cares for you herself. Before anything begins, you will understand your tooth and your options.
Call or text 330-721-1350
Board certified
A practice limited to endodontics
Dr. El-Refai is a board-certified endodontist who teaches the next generation of endodontists and publishes in the specialty's own journal.
- Board-certified endodontist Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics since 2014 and an active Diplomate today. The specialty’s highest credential, earned through written and oral examinations and case review.
- Clinical Assistant Professor Teaching endodontic residents at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine since 2000.
- Published in the Journal of Endodontics Five peer-reviewed papers, four of them in the Journal of Endodontics, from root canal chemistry to tooth survival and facial pain, most recently in 2025.
- President, Ohio Association of Endodontists Led the state’s association of endodontists for 2025 to 2026.
Education and board certification
- 1992BDS, Cairo University
- 1998DDS, Case Western Reserve University
- 2000MSD in Endodontics, Case Western Reserve University
- 2014Diplomate, American Board of Endodontics
Honors
- Sherwood/Hrutkay Award for Excellence in Endodontics, Case Western Reserve University, 1998
- Horace Wells Senior Student Award, American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, for outstanding achievement in dental anesthesiology, 1998
- The Quintessence Award for academic achievement, Quintessence Publishing
- Certificate of Merit, American Society of Dentistry for Children, on the recommendation of the Case Western Reserve faculty
- Certificate of Appreciation, Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry
- Certificates of appreciation, American Association of Endodontists Annual Sessions, 1999 and 2000
- Fellow, International College of Dentists, 2023
Memberships
- American Board of Endodontics (Diplomate)
- American Association of Endodontists
- Ohio Association of Endodontists (President, 2025 to 2026)
- International College of Dentists (Fellow)
- American Dental Association
- Academy of General Dentistry
- Greater Cleveland Dental Society
- Akron Dental Society
- Egyptian Dental Union
How we work
Personal care, one on one
Many people arrive nervous about a root canal. We work at a pace that never feels rushed, and from your first visit to your last, Dr. El-Refai cares for you herself.
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Your doctor, every step
The same doctor examines your tooth, plans your treatment and performs it, and we leave time for every question along the way.
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Imaging you understand
Dr. El-Refai takes your 3D scan personally and goes through it with you slice by slice on the screen, so you see exactly what she sees.
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Honest odds before you decide
Before any treatment, we explain the risks and the chances of success. If a tooth is not a good bet, we will tell you, and we do not take on cases we believe are likely to fail.
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A permanent filling, every time
Every treated tooth leaves sealed with a permanent filling, never a temporary one, and most are finished in one calm visit. The American Association of Endodontists lists a leaking or delayed restoration among the reasons root canals fail.
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Evidence-based technology
We use GentleWave, a small-field 3D scanner and a surgical microscope, each chosen because published research supports it. The research behind them
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Comfort, your way
We use local anesthetic for every treatment and offer nitrous oxide, oral sedation, or IV sedation with a board-certified dentist anesthesiologist if you feel anxious.
Our office
Our office on Medina Road
3985 Medina Road, Suite 160, Medina, about a mile and a half east of Medina Square.
Mon, Tue, Thu 7 am to 4 pm; Wed by appointment; Fri closed.
Small comforts at every visit
- A warm blanket, offered to every patient
- Soft classical music throughout the office
- Dark protective glasses to keep the bright light from your eyes
- One-visit appointments whenever it is feasible
Treatments
What we treat
Endodontics is all we do: saving natural teeth by treating the inside of the tooth, the root, and the tissue around it.
- Root canal treatment Saving an infected or inflamed tooth, usually in a single treatment visit.
- The GentleWave procedure A deeper, gentler way to clean the canal system, usually in one visit.
- Root canal retreatment A second chance for a tooth whose earlier root canal has not healed.
- Apicoectomy Microsurgery at the root tip when a root canal alone is not enough.
- Cracked teeth Finding and treating cracks before they reach the root.
- Injured teeth Knocked-out, loosened and broken teeth, in adults and children.
- Tooth resorption Internal and external resorption, often found by chance on an x-ray before it ever hurts.
- Regenerative endodontics Keeping injured or inflamed pulp alive, especially in young teeth.
Dr. El-Refai is often asked to take on the hardest cases in the specialty: severely calcified canals, internal and external resorption, dental trauma, tooth pain that is hard to place, leakage under old fillings and crowns, and dental emergencies.
Right now
In pain right now?
Call or text us and tell us what is going on. We make every attempt to see patients in pain on the same day, and earlier appointments are available on request. You do not need a referral.
Mon, Tue, Thu 7 am to 4 pm; Wed by appointment; Fri closed.
Already a patient and it is after hours? Call 330-416-8297.
Trouble breathing or swallowing, swelling spreading toward your eye or neck, or a serious injury to the face? Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Your endodontist
Meet Dr. El-Refai
Dr. Nivine El-Refai earned her dental degrees at Cairo University and Case Western Reserve University, where she completed her specialty training in endodontics in 2000. She has taught the university's endodontic residents ever since and is a Clinical Assistant Professor there today. She became a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics in 2014, has published research in the Journal of Endodontics, was inducted as a Fellow of the International College of Dentists in 2023, and serves as President of the Ohio Association of Endodontists for 2025 to 2026.
Outside the office she spends time with family, travels, fishes, plays tennis, gardens and reads, often in another language.
Read her full backgroundYour visit
Find us on Medina Road
3985 Medina Road, Suite 160Medina, OH 44256
- From I-71: take Route 18 west. We are on the right, just before Foote Road.
- From Medina Square: head east on Route 18 (Medina Road) about 1.5 miles. We are on the left.
In network with most dental PPO plans. Insurance and fees
Patient portal. Once your visit is scheduled, we send you a registration code for the secure patient portal, where you can complete your forms at home.
For referring dentists
Send a patient, see the report
Send referrals and see your patients' reports and images through the secure referral portal, or fax a referral slip to 330-721-4741. We see urgent cases as quickly as the schedule allows.
Relief starts with a call
Call or text, and we will find the soonest time that works. If you are in pain, tell us when you call, and we will do everything we can to see you the same day.