When your tooth is infected or diseased, it may seem like pulling it is the easy choice, especially if you’re in pain. Having that tooth pulled may be the easy choice, but it may not be the best choice.
There are many satisfactory reasons to hang on to your natural teeth for as long as you can. But decay and infection can make that a challenge and force you to decide to pull your tooth or save it.
What exactly are the benefits of saving your teeth?
⦁ Natural teeth are stronger- Natural teeth are stronger, function better than artificial ones, and are easier to care for. While technology and materials are better than ever, fabricated teeth still don’t have the same strength that natural teeth do.
⦁ Avoid shifting of teeth- When a tooth is pulled, it creates a gap in your smile, allowing the surrounding teeth to shift. This shifting takes time and can eventually cause problems with chewing and bite alignment. These problems can create a domino effect of pain, poor nutrition, and reduced quality of life.
⦁ Maintain your appearance- When teeth are pulled, the roots that support the jaw are pulled as well. When there is a gap in the bone, the surrounding bone will collapse in often making people appear older than they are.
⦁ No loss of confidence- If the tooth to be pulled is visible when you smile, the resulting gap can have a negative impact on your self-confidence.
⦁ Less pain- After a tooth is pulled, most patients report several more days of pain, especially if they experience dry socket. When the tooth remains in place through a root canal, the pain is addressed immediately when the infection is eliminated, and there is no chance of dry socket.
⦁ Fewer costs- While you may think that pulling a tooth is cheaper than fixing it, the truth is that replacing the tooth costs more time and money.
The answer for all this to save tooth, ROOT CANAL, a procedure where the inside of a tooth is cleaned and disinfected to remove the inflamed or infected interior pulp. Once the interior of the tooth is clean, the natural tooth is filled with a substance for strength and protected or restored with a crown, making it function again like any other tooth.
Not only do you save your natural tooth, a root canal eliminates the pain and the recovery time is very short.
When Should They Be Extracted?
Sometimes your dentist simply can't save a tooth, and it needs to be removed. This may be the case if you have a very large cavity that compromises too much of your tooth's structure, making it too weak to repair. If your tooth has a severe fracture, extraction may be the best option here as well.