# can most root canals be avoided by pulling the tooth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 25, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-most-root-canals-be-avoided-by-pulling-the-tooth/526388 "2010-01-25T18:16:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NoiseBomb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/49beb7/32.png) [@NoiseBomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoiseBomb)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-most-root-canals-be-avoided-by-pulling-the-tooth/526388/21 "2010-01-26T05:29:45Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Its fine to get a tooth pulled in lieu of a root canal, depending on your situation. A good dentist will go through your options with you, their costs and potential consequences. Sometimes getting it yanked out turns out to be the best option. I had a rear molar that already had a filling in it get cracked and infected. He said, well, I could try a root canal and crown on the tooth, but odds are it won’t save the tooth, and recommended pulling it. Cost didn’t come into the equation, as NoiseMom was willing to lend me the money for what insurance wouldn’t have covered on the root canal and crown. It’s been somewhere around 6 or 7 years and there haven’t been any issues from the missing tooth. ---
**Author:** ![TheHonorableEric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@TheHonorableEric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheHonorableEric)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-most-root-canals-be-avoided-by-pulling-the-tooth/526388/22 "2010-01-26T05:32:27Z")
After ruining 2 teeth, my former dentist is in prison for presctiption drug/use/abuse. A tooth only has one chance, so if it is extracted, it is DONE and GONE, if a high dentist ruins it, it is DONE/GONE! Who knows… ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-most-root-canals-be-avoided-by-pulling-the-tooth/526388/23 "2010-01-26T07:38:15Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I asked some very pointed questions before settling on extraction because I had heard the myths surrounding tooth movement, etcetera, and she called bullshit on it, and I believed her. So as already mentioned, I’ve had two teeth removed, the first about 10 years ago. I can’t feel any movement of teeth into the gaps; the teeth either side feel straight. Similarly my face / smile hasn’t “collapsed” and I don’t have any problems eating. The risks of having teeth removed does seem to have been overblown. (I am though considering implants as a future precautionary thing blah blah) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-most-root-canals-be-avoided-by-pulling-the-tooth/526388/24 "2010-01-26T13:08:51Z")
Before I had braces they pulled 4 of my teeth and the braces moved the rest of my teeth to fill in the gaps. I guess teeth can move to a gap without braces but it’s probably a lot harder. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-most-root-canals-be-avoided-by-pulling-the-tooth/526388/25 "2010-01-26T16:07:22Z")
I had an infected molar (I forgot which one) and the dentist said I could get a root canal (something like $1000) or - he could pull it out (for far less $$$). He said if he did pull it out, it was a case where my other teeth would NOT shift around. So, I chose plan B, pull it. But I’ve had three root canals with good results (and no, they were not long painful procedures, though they were expensive!) because I didn’t want my teeth to get all crooked. I wore braces as a young adult and didn’t want all that suffering to go to waste. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-most-root-canals-be-avoided-by-pulling-the-tooth/526388/26 "2010-01-28T02:30:39Z")
Oh, another thing: I DID have a root canal done once…and said molar is still extremely sensitive to cold. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-most-root-canals-be-avoided-by-pulling-the-tooth/526388.md?page=1)