When Dr. Alvarez says you need a root canal, that's actually good news. It means your tooth can be saved, instead of extracted.

The procedure is not painful, as you may have heard. At Jorge L Alvarez DDS we will numb the tooth so you won't feel any pain, and there is little discomfort afterwards. Extracting the tooth would be less healthy and more expensive.

Repairing the root canal is the way Dr. Alvarez can save the entire tooth. The other alternative is to pull the tooth entirely. However, leaving that space empty may create other problems, like making chewing and biting more difficult. Teeth may also shift position if missing teeth are not there to hold the space.

If you decide to have the dentist pull the tooth and replace it with a denture or bridge, the cost will be significantly more than the cost of a root canal.