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Avatar universal

Root canal vs. extraction

I have a female black lab/golden retriever mix who has a discolored incisor -  the tooth is dying.  The dental vet gave me some options, either extraction or root canal.  His thought the root canal would be less recovery time and keep her mouth feeling "normal," but obviously it is my decision.  Will having that tooth extracted affect her much at all?
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Avatar universal
Good question - I will ask the vet.  I assume they will do x-rays first, and see what else is going on. Thanks!
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Avatar universal
Thanks!  I will make an appointment soon.
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Avatar universal
I am not sure what happened to the tooth - it is the incisor right next to her canine.  There must have been some sort of trauma to it, I guess.  It is not loose, and although she did not get x-rays (yet), I doubt it is infected.  Her behavior is normal and she eats (although she has always been a somewhat picky eater).  

The only reason I noticed it was I was looking at her and her sister's teeth because I want to get them cleaned (they are 6 years old), and saw her one tooth was purplish and white.  I took her to my regular vet who said, yes, it was most likely dead/dying and then referred me to the dental vet.

Regarding the "recovery time" statement - he said after a root canal, she could pretty much go home and go back to a regular routine (eating wise), whereas with an extraction, there would be a few days of feeding her different food, etc., until it heals.  I did ask him about teeth shifting, and he said no, dogs do not live long enough to have that issue.
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462827 tn?1333168952
It won't effect her at all after about 3 days....I assume the root canal is much more expensive, too!!  I don't understand the "recovery time" statement......"Root Canal" options are normally reserved for working dogs such as Police/Service dogs....Because they need their teeth in some instances....

Extractions are simple....We've had 1,6,7,8,12,16 pulled at one time here.....Never had a problem w/recovery, teeth shifting, eating or anything else......

I've seen what diseased teeth can do to a canine later down the road....I'm sure I'll see it many more times....My theory is: "If it's damaged, cracked, rotten, etc., TAKE IT OUT!" It's not worth the risk later, trust me!!!!

Let us know how she does & good luck......
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974371 tn?1424653129
Agree with Blu.  Is it infected or just discolored? Is it loose?  Not sure why they want to extract it.  One tooth extraction  shouldn't affect her.  What prognosis did they give you on a root canal?  
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1696489 tn?1370821974
I she still has the rest of her teeth, one extraction should be no big deal.  What you need to find out from your vet is HOW the tooth in question got that way, and what her chances are of other teeth doing the same thing.
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