Root Canal or Extraction? What’s Right for You?

Toothache is no laughing matter. Whether you’re feeling pain due to decay, infection, or a damaged tooth, all you want is some relief. Your dentist in Leominster, Massachusetts, may recommend root canal treatment for severe tooth decay and infections. Root canals are often the last resort to saving a seriously damaged tooth from extraction. A consultation by Dr. Yijia Li from A & S Dental Wellness Center of Leominster in Leominster, Massachusetts, can help you decide which treatment is proper for you.

Root Canal vs. Extraction

Root canals help repair severely damaged teeth to avoid extraction. Extracting a tooth often seems the easier route to eliminate pain and restore oral health. Tooth extraction, however, comes with consequences. It leaves an unsightly gap that will eventually need to be filled by an artificial tooth to complete your smile. Lost teeth can also make it more challenging to eat or speak.

In contrast, there are numerous advantages to choosing a root canal as your infected tooth treatment.

• A root canal will alleviate the pain and discomfort of an infected tooth by cleansing it of infectious tissue and sealing it against further infection.
• Root canals can be performed in one or two dental visits for prompt, effective treatment.
• A root canal will restore your tooth’s usefulness and appearance to avoid unsightly gaps in your smile.
• Root canals are less painful than dealing with the aftereffects of extraction.
• A root canal will save your natural tooth so that you can benefit from its continued use.

Which Treatment is Right for You?

If there’s a possibility of saving your natural tooth, Dr. Yijia Li will recommend root canal treatment to spare you the time and cost of restoring your lost tooth in the future. If your tooth is too damaged to be saved, then extraction may be your only alternative to protect healthy teeth from infection. Dr. Li will consider what’s best for your overall oral health when recommending treatment.

To learn more about the restorative properties of root canal treatment, contact Dr. Yijia Li at A & S Dental Wellness Center of Leominster, Leominster, MA, at your earliest convenience. We can be reached at (978) 926-9010.