Which is a better procedure?

[zeewastaken]

Hello. I am 18 and have always been terrified of the dentist. Recently I went for a checkup after a good 5 years and turns out I have a bad cavity that has caused a hole in a back molar. They told me they could cut the tooth out in three sections or do a root canal, which procedure would be better and easier on me who has this anxiety?

 

[Gordon]

They are both going to take about the same amount of time, you'll be equally numb for whichever one you choose, the extraction will involve a bit more pushing and weird noises, the root canal a lot of fiddly messing about (by the dentist).

 

[realh]

The root filling procedure may take longer, and may require two visits, followed by a crown at some point afterwards, but the recovery period is within a day, compared to a couple of weeks for an extraction. My preference would be for a root filling, but if the tooth is quite badly damaged and isn't likely to last more than 5 years you'd probably be better off getting the extraction over and done with.