When your tooth has suffered severe decay and infection of the pulp cavity, the first treatment option that comes to mind is a root canal. The treatment procedure involves getting rid of the decayed part of the enamel, removing the nerve, and filling up the canals. While a root canal treatment is a viable option for saving your infected tooth, it is not the only solution. If you are considering exploring other options for managing the tooth, here are some other alternatives that may work better for you.

Perform a tooth extraction

Sometimes, a root canal treatment can weaken the tooth and increase its chances of chipping or breaking in future. This is particularly true if you don't get a crown over the tooth after treatment. The total cost of getting a root canal and a crown may be too much for you. In this case, you can consider getting a tooth extraction. This option is suitable if the infected tooth is a third molar or another molar at the rear of the mouth. That's because removing a tooth at the rear will have little impact on aesthetics. What's more, the procedure will only take a few minutes, and you don't have to worry about subsequent visits to the dentist.

Get a dental implant

Root canal treatment does not guarantee that your tooth will remain healthy forever. It can end up coming off or breaking at some point. In this case, getting an implant would be the best permanent solution. Implants are permanently infused into the gum and a crown that matches your enamel placed on top of them. The dentist will extract the infected tooth and take impressions which will be sued to design the implant. Although implants are quite costly, they are the best option if you are looking for a permanent solution to your infected tooth.

Get partial dentures

Dentures are a great solution to tooth loss, and they blend with the other natural teeth so that no one can know you have one. If you want to perform tooth extraction but are worried about aesthetics, a partial denture is an ideal option. After extracting the tooth, the dentist will prepare a denture to take the place of the natural tooth. The advantage of this treatment is that you don't have to worry about future pain as is with root canal treatment. Also, you can choose various denture styles and colours if you want to get creative with the new dentures.

Contact your dentist so that they can walk you through these options and help you choose the best alternative to a root canal treatment for your decayed and infected tooth.