Root Canal vs. Extraction

One of the most painful dental experiences one can have is undergoing root canal therapy.  Root canal therapy (also known as endodontic therapy) is a dental treatment that is designed to repair teeth that have infected pulp.  No dentist will deny that root canal therapy is a difficult process for a patient to go through.  However, considering the alternatives, root canal therapy is the most effective method of saving a tooth.

Root canal therapy is needed when the tooth’s pulp has become damaged.  The pulp of a tooth is essentially the lifeline of a tooth and it contains the blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue inside a tooth.  As the pulp provides the tooth blood and nutrients, damage to the pulp is serious and can result in the death of a tooth.  Root canal therapy is recommended when damage to the tooth’s pulp becomes visible.  This is usually evident when an abscess (a pocket of pus that forms at the tip of the tooth’s root) becomes visible.

Pulp infection is usually a result of either a deep cavity or a cracked tooth.  These dental conditions expose to pulp to bacteria, which leads to infection.  At this point, root canal therapy is highly recommended as a method to save the tooth.  However, some individuals feel that tooth extraction is the best solution.  This would allow them to avoid the painful root canal therapy treatment and to have a final resolution to this problem.

When it comes to determining which is the better solution, the question will invariably become: root canal vs. extraction.  Dentists seem to agree that root canal therapy is the best option of the two.  This is because root canal therapy is the only choice between the two that is designed to help a person save their tooth.  Although tooth replacement work has progressed to the point where it is normal for dentists to replace teeth with replacement teeth that look and feel like regular teeth, dentists still believe that it is better that a person retain their own teeth.  In scenarios where root canal therapy can possibly save an infected tooth, dentists agree that it is safer, less invasive, and less expensive in the long run that tooth extraction.

Additionally, in the root canal vs. extraction argument, root canal therapy is better for your overall health.  This is because dentists have estimated that tooth extraction will release between 68% and 84% more bacteria into the blood stream than root canal therapy.  Considering that the human body is a complete organism and that the health of one part of the body will affect other areas of the body, root canal therapy is the safest choice between the two options.

However, there are some circumstances where root canal therapy is unfeasible and tooth extraction is the only option.  In these cases, you should take heart knowing that tooth replacement techniques have progressed exponentially over the last few years.  It is highly recommended that you would replace an extracted tooth, as this will prevent dental problems caused by a missing tooth from occurring.  Popular extracted tooth replacement options include: obtaining a dental bridge, obtaining a removable appliance, and obtaining a dental implant.