The Question Every Patient Asks: Should I Save or Pull My Tooth?

When you’re sitting in the dentist’s chair with a toothache, chances are you’ll hear two options: root canal treatment or tooth extraction. Both stop the pain and infection, but the choice isn’t always as simple as it seems.

Extraction may feel like the cheaper and quicker fix, but here’s the catch: pulling a tooth often comes with long-term costs that patients don’t expect financial, functional, and even emotional. On the other hand, a root canal gives your natural tooth a second chance, often proving to be the smarter investment.

Let’s look at what really happens when you save your tooth versus remove it.

What Happens During Each Procedure

Root Canal Therapy: Saving What Nature Gave You

A root canal treatment is all about preservation. An endodontist carefully removes the infected pulp inside your tooth, cleans and disinfects the canal, and seals it. To finish, a crown is placed to protect and strengthen the tooth.

Goal: Keep your natural tooth, stop the infection, and restore normal function.

Tooth Extraction: Starting Over With Replacements

Extraction is more straightforward, the entire tooth is removed from the socket. We have a faciality of tooth pain management in Singapore as well. While it gets rid of the problem, it leaves behind a gap. That gap can cause shifting teeth, bone loss, or bite problems if not replaced with an implant, bridge, or denture.

Goal: Eliminate the tooth and the infection completely.

The True Cost: Upfront vs. Long-Term

• Root Canal Therapy: More expensive than extraction at first, especially when you add the cost of a crown. But your tooth stays in place, which usually means fewer expenses later.
• Extraction: Cheaper initially. But if you replace the missing tooth (which you almost always should), costs rise sometimes well beyond the price of a root canal.

Key takeaway: Extraction looks like the budget option, but once you factor in replacements, root canal therapy often wins for overall value.

Hidden Costs of Extraction You May Not Expect

Losing a tooth can trigger a domino effect in your mouth:

• Teeth shift into the empty space, changing your bite.
• The jawbone shrinks where the tooth root used to be.
• Chewing certain foods becomes harder.
• Speech may be affected if the tooth was visible or front-facing.
• Restoring the gap later can be costly and time-consuming.

What seems like the “easier” choice can snowball into bigger problems down the road.

Why Root Canal Therapy Often Wins the Long Game

When you save your tooth with a root canal, you:

• Keep your natural chewing ability.
• Protect the jawbone and face shape.
• Maintain your smile’s natural appearance.
• Avoid complex replacements like implants or bridges.
• Get a treatment that, with proper care, can last a lifetime.

If Extraction Is Necessary: Your Replacement Options

Sometimes, saving the tooth simply isn’t possible. In those cases, here are the most common replacement methods:

• Dental Implants: The strongest, most natural-looking option but costly and requires surgery.
• Dental Bridges: Less invasive than implants, but they rely on and can weaken nearby teeth.
• Dentures (Partial or Full): The most affordable upfront, though less stable and needing frequent adjustments or replacements.

Even with good options, none of them fully match the efficiency and feel of keeping your own tooth.

Comfort, Recovery, and Success Rates

• Root Canal: Modern root canals feel no worse than getting a filling, with quick recovery and minimal soreness. Success rates hover above 90%.
  
• Extraction: Recovery may take longer, with risks like dry socket or swelling. Replacements add time and cost.

When Extraction May Be the Right Call

Root canal therapy is usually the first choice, but extraction may be necessary if:

• The tooth is broken below the gumline.
• There isn’t enough structure left to restore.
• Decay is too extensive to support a crown.
• Medical or financial limitations make extraction the only practical option.

In those cases, planning a replacement right away is critical.

FAQ: Root Canal vs. Extraction

Q: Is a root canal always better than extraction?
Not always. If the tooth can’t be restored, extraction is necessary. But if the tooth is savable, root canal therapy is usually the better long-term option.

Q: How painful is a root canal compared to extraction?
With modern techniques, root canals are no more painful than a standard filling. Extractions can have a longer and less comfortable recovery period.

Q: Are implants better than root canals?
Both are excellent options, but keeping your natural tooth is almost always preferable when possible.

Q: How long does a root canal last?
With proper care, many last decades and often a lifetime.

The Real Cost: Final Verdict

When you look beyond the upfront bill, saving your tooth with a root canal is almost always the smarter investment. It protects your bite, preserves your jawbone, and keeps your smile intact without the need for costly replacements.

Ready to Make the Best Choice for Your Smile?

At The Endodontic Office, our specialists use advanced technology and gentle techniques to provide root canal treatments built to last. We’ll walk you through every option so you feel confident in your decision.

Call today to schedule your consultation or book online to find out if root canal therapy is the right choice for you.