Root Canal vs. Extraction: Which Is Right for You?

Video Transcript

Root canal or extraction — which is right for you? A root canal saves your natural tooth: it maintains your jawbone, preserves bite alignment, requires no implant surgery, and the tooth looks and functions naturally. Extraction starts a chain reaction — bone resorbs, adjacent teeth shift, your bite changes, and eventually you need an implant or bridge plus possible bone grafting. A root canal plus crown is typically completed in one to two visits, while extraction plus implant plus crown involves multiple surgeries over months at two to three times the cost. Root canals by a specialist endodontist have a 95%+ success rate with survival comparable to single-tooth implants at 5 and 10 years. Sometimes extraction is best — severe fractures below the gumline, advanced periodontal disease, or non-restorable teeth — and Dr. Kung gives an honest assessment.