There are many situations where a root canal treatment may not possible or advised. Here are some of the more general reasons:

1- When the tooth is not predictably restorable after a root canal treatment is done, it may be necessary to do an assessment first to see if a tooth’s root canal is treated, whether it would be possible to restore and finish the tooth. If a tooth is deemed not restorable or has poor prognosis then an alternative option of extraction may need to be considered.

2- There is no accessibility to the tooth to complete a root canal treatment. This is common usually with wisdom teeth.

3- Size of an infection, its severity and the risks associated with it, justify a fast treatment such as an extraction over a root canal treatment

4- Patient not being able to tolerate a root canal treatment.