Root canal or extraction

[Dominic]

Hi

My tooth was aching today and when I saw my dentist he told me that the tooth has a lot of decay and would need either a root canal or an extraction.

Could you tell me the pros and cons of root canal and extraction. If you were in my shoes would you have a root canal or extraction? What are the cost implications of both options?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Hi

Thank you for your post. We would need to examine your tooth to be able to tell you which option would be better for you and give you exact costings.

Broadly speaking, in my opinion as long as the prognosis for the tooth is not poor, its better to try to save the tooth with root canal treatment.

Worth knowing that root canal treatment does not always work and is probably around 70-80% successful but the alternatives of replacing a lost tooth can be even more time consuming and costly. If you wish to just remove the tooth and leave a gap, you should consider the cosmetic and functional problems that may arise.

If the prognosis for the tooth is hopeless, then its an easier decision and you could go for the extraction and then have either implant/bridge/denture/gap as you wish.