Among the treatment options you may want to consider when you have a badly infected or inflamed tooth is root canal therapy and extraction. Root canal therapy removes the pulp tissues while extraction removes the entire tooth. While both of these treatment options would be good for your infected or inflamed tooth, you may be confused about which option to choose. Here are some advantages that root canal therapy has over extraction.

Root Canal Helps Prevent Further Infections

When your tooth is extracted, there are high chances of the area developing infections from food, drinks, and other elements, which may lead to serious dental problems. In addition, if you consider replacement options for your extracted tooth, you may compromise the health of the adjacent teeth in case of any infection. With root canal therapy, you won't need to be worried about such infections. However, you will still need to ensure proper care after the treatment.

Root Canal Therapy Prevents Tooth Shifting

Tooth shifting is a common problem that happens when teeth are lost and not replaced. The drifting and shifting can lead to supraeruption of the opposing teeth. This may result in occlusion problems that will require further dental treatment. Root canal therapy prevents such issues.

Root Canal Therapy Eliminates the Need for Costly Future Dental Requirements

If the root canal therapy was done perfectly, your tooth will last for the rest of your life. However, with tooth extraction, issues such as tooth shifting or missing teeth may compel you to undergo other dental procedures such as dentures and dental implants that may cost you a significant amount of money.

Root Canal Therapy Helps You Retain Your Dentition

Since root canal therapy preserves your tooth, you won't have to worry about any gaps in your smile that would result if the tooth were to be extracted. In addition, with root canal therapy, your tooth can still function normally. Even if you decide to replace the teeth with dentures or dental implants, these replacements will not have the normal biting efficiency of your natural teeth.

If you consider root canal therapy, you will enjoy some of the above benefits, but this should not prevent you from having an infected tooth extracted, especially when it wouldn't have a huge effect on the aesthetic appearance of your smile, such as when the tooth is a molar. However, always consider extraction as your last resort.