Key Takeaways
- Modern root canals are done under effective anesthesia — most patients compare them to a regular filling.
- The pain people associate with root canals comes from the infection, which treatment relieves.
- Saving your natural tooth is almost always better and cheaper long-term than extraction plus replacement.
Myth: root canals are extremely painful
This reputation dates from decades-old techniques. With modern local anesthesia and rotary instruments, the procedure itself is comfortable — the severe pain patients remember is the infected tooth before treatment. A root canal is how the pain stops.
Myth: extraction is simpler and cheaper
Pulling the tooth is quicker that day, but the empty space then needs a bridge, implant or denture to prevent neighboring teeth drifting. A root canal (THB 8,000–20,000 by tooth position at our clinic) plus a crown almost always costs less over ten years than extraction plus an implant.
What treatment actually involves
The dentist removes infected tissue from inside the tooth's root canals, disinfects them and seals them. Front teeth take 1 visit typically; molars with multiple canals may need 2. A crown afterward protects the treated tooth, which can then last a lifetime.
Frequently Asked Questions
At Pattaya City Dental Center: front tooth THB 8,000–10,000, premolar THB 10,000–15,000, molar THB 15,000–20,000, per the official fee schedule.
This article is general information, not a diagnosis. Your dentist will advise on your individual case at consultation.