Like with many dental treatments, whether a root canal or tooth extraction is better for you isn’t so black and white. The truth is that it ultimately depends on your unique oral situation.
While your friendly neighborhood dentist is the only one capable of determining which option you need, it is nice to get an idea of which category your care might fall under. Let’s review when it might be appropriate to get a root canal vs. a tooth extraction – as well as why root canals are almost always preferred.
Reasons You Might Need a Root Canal
The aim of a root canal is to clean out harmful bacteria, decay, and infection from the inside of your tooth. So if gingivitis has spread to your tooth’s inner-region, decay has advanced past your enamel, or you have dead dental nerves from previous injury, a root canal is exactly what you’ll need.
When a Tooth Extraction Might be Valid
Tooth extractions are also used to remove infection, disease, and decay. However, it is reserved as a last-resort option for severe cases. The philosophy is that it’s better to abandon ship and save your remaining teeth. Other than that, they’re only employed to assist with orthodontics by relieving overcrowded or impacted teeth.
Why Root Canals are Almost Always Better
At face value, a tooth extraction might seem like the simpler, cheaper option. It’s true that a root canal treatment is more expensive than an extraction and generally takes longer to complete. However, tooth extractions can cause several pricey and inconvenient complications:
- Dry socket from a dislodged blood clot
- Shifting teeth and bite due to dental gaps
- Jawbone deterioration as your brain starts to mark portions of it as unnecessary
- Reduced bite power because of misalignment or less powerful dental replacements
At the end of the day, your tooth wasn’t really made to come out so dramatically. To keep life simple and spare your wallet from a lifetime of follow up treatments, it’s better to go with a root canal when possible.
If you’re still unsure about your dental treatment options, don’t worry. Your dentist is a professional. When they inspect your oral situation and make recommendations, they do so based off of specialized training and industry experience. So if they say you need a root canal – or tooth extraction – you can trust they’ve weighed the pros and cons. In both cases, they’ll provide expert services!
About the Practice
Our team at Atrium Family Dental of New Lenox is dedicated to quality patient care. To ensure they provide the best treatment possible, they keep up to date with new dental technologies and information. They never stop learning, and they never stop putting their patients’ oral health first. If you think you might need a root canal or tooth extraction, give our office a call at 815-462-9990. We’d be happy to investigate your teeth and give you our professional recommendation.