Pull Your Tooth or Save It? Which is Best?

Question: Is it better to have a tooth repaired or pulled?

You need to understand it this way

Why You should get your tooth repaired?

A natural Tooth is a natural tooth.
Natural teeth maintain the gum tissue just like that even after 10–20 years.
Natural teeth maintain the bone level the way it is today.
Replacing a Natural tooth is time taking procedure.
Replacing a natural tooth is a painful, stressful, and most importantly expensive affair that does not guarantee the maintenance of gum and bone the same way as it was doing before.
Let us imagine you got your tooth pulled out. Now you need at least a month to let it heal and then decide the treatment plan.

In that one month, your neighboring teeth migrate to that space. Your opposite tooth moves towards the space. The more time you take to get an artificial tooth, the more are the chances of migration.
You must be thinking so what !!!!…..ok let me tell you ….If your neighboring teeth migrate to that space, they will be coming out of their own socket, creating small space at sides of them leading to food lodgement complaint, tooth before and after that moving tooth will get carious over the time, imbalanced occlusion/bite ( can lead lead to Headache, TMJ disorder, pain that side of the face, pain on opening and closing mouth).
pulled tooth space will be completely closed then you cannot let it replace as well.

7. Artificial tooth is an artificial tooth. PDL Fibre attachment of the natural tooth with bone gives the natural tooth an edge over choosing artificial tooth.

you have limited options for fixed teeth and that is IMPLANT. Sorry to say, IMPLANT FAILS TOO.

Another option is the removable tooth, but over time it resorbs bone and gum tissue. and plus the tension of pulling it out and putting it in every time is one added headache.

8. Let me explain the expensive part

Natural tooth repairing could be

Filling - that will cost around 2000/ 3000/4000 max 6000
RCT - will cost around 2500/3500/5000/7000/10000…or more
then after RCT you might need a cap - that'll be around 3500/5000/8000/12000

Replacing a natural tooth with fixed teeth

implant- 30000/40000/50000/ 80000or more per implant

Replacing a natural tooth with Removable teeth

3000//5000/10000/15000/25000 + disadvantage of bone and gum loss over the time.

9. If your natural tooth can get infected so is your artificial tooth.

10. Medically/ Physically compromised patients.

Why you should pull it out ?

1.Tooth is grossly carious,

2. Root piece is left in the mouth

3. Tooth is mobile,

4. Cannot be saved with a root canal.

5. Patient not willing

6. Patients who are medically not fit, Physically not well.

7. Before Radiotherapy

8. Financially cannot afford.

9. After Treatment, the tooth is again showing pus, swelling formation, pain.

10. If the tooth is fractured.

The choice is yours at the end of the day.

But Saving your natural tooth should always be your priority.

But if your case lies in

Why you should pull it out then in that case You must not remain adamant about saving it. Better to get it out and must replace it either with fixed or removable as early as possible.

A natural tooth is a Natural tooth no matter what. Nothing can replace a natural tooth.

As a Dentist, I feel it gives me a boost to save the tooth when the patient is willing 200% to save the tooth despite knowing the prognosis of the tooth and do not want to pull the tooth out at any cost, in those cases, I also give out 210% effort to save the tooth.

-Dr. Abi Negi