Which is Better? Root Canal or Tooth Extraction? 

A lot goes into taking care of human teeth. From simple acts like brushing and flossing to technical aspects like oral surgery and tooth extraction procedures, the dental components of teeth are complex.

When you consider dental care for damaged teeth, deciding on the best treatment can be overwhelming. Dentistry has evolved a lot as a field. This means there are limitless options of how you can improve the health of your teeth. How do you choose which treatment is best for you? Which one works best – root canal or tooth extraction?

Why Do You Need Root Canal?

Root canal treatment involves removing the central part of a tooth to get rid of pain and infection. As a result, the structure of the tooth is sustained. It means you can keep your teeth for much longer. Some of the reasons you need root can therapy includes:

• Broken tooth – For an endodontic intervention to be needed, the breakage has caused damage to the nerves of your tooth. However, a lot of your tooth’s natural structure is undamaged.
• Dental decay – Tooth decay is very common in dentistry. However, most patients wait too long before getting the decay treated. A root canal is an option for decayed teeth that does not mean losing your tooth. Only the damaged part of a tooth is removed.
• Overly sensitive teeth – When you experience hypersensitivity on your teeth, it means that your nerves are overworking. This could signify some infection or damage in the central part of your tooth, which causes increased sensitivity.

Why Do You Need Tooth Extraction?

The removal of a mature adult tooth can be done under the following conditions:

• Broken or chipped teeth – when you incur and injury, it can significantly damage your teeth. Usually, a big part of the natural tooth is missing. What remains may not serve much of its purpose as it is, which is why it is removed through tooth removal procedures.
• Decayed teeth – left alone, a simple cavity in a tooth can escalate into a major oral disaster. Problems with gums, bone structures, and even adjacent teeth, begin to occur. It is why a severely decayed tooth has to be removed.
• Crowded mouth – occurs when the teeth of a patient are larger than the jawbone. This poses an orthodontic problem where the teeth sit improperly on the jawbone. Tooth extraction procedures can be incorporated into orthodontic treatment to reduce the number of teeth in the mouth. Reducing the teeth creates room for the rest to properly align on either arc of the mouth.
• Unusually grown wisdom teeth – they are the last set of teeth to grow in the human mouth. Some grow as they should, but some deviate. This is where some patients have wisdom teeth stuck underneath the gum tissues or others that overlap on adjacent teeth, putting pressure. For such, your dentist can suggest removing them to ease the discomfort and tension caused by the teeth.

Is It Better to Have A Root Canal or Extraction?

There are impeccable similarities between the two treatments when it comes to why you need them. However, you cannot justify either of the treatment based on the similarities. Taking care of your oral health is what should concern you when following through with any dental treatment.

Dentistry is concerned with increasing the life of teeth. Therefore, for a patient to require any tooth removal procedures, there must be a need informing the action. Ultimately, your dentist will recommend trying to save your tooth instead of removing it. A tooth extraction should be regarded as the last result of treating a damaged tooth. However, before making any decision, seek the input of an endodontist or a dentist. The best course of action is that which does not compromise your oral and overall health. Some other factors to weigh in on your decision include:

• Comfort levels – this is during and after treatment. Is a root canal painful or is tooth extraction worse?
• Costs – how much do you have to spare? Can you bear the root canal cost vis-a-vis those of tooth extraction?
• Convenience – would you rather keep your tooth or is it better to live with a missing tooth.