Well until the tooth is extracted, the infection will always be present. The root canal takes out the middle of the tooth, including the blood supply. There are millions of miles of microscopic canals they can't clean out, and then once you remove the blood supply antibiotics can't get to the infected areas-so they patiently wait to cause pain until the worst possible moment, while keeping your immune system working overtime. The tooth will eventually be lost anyway-outside the infection. In addition to the infection, root canal teeth are very, very brittle and crack easily.

Dentists usually won't admit this until asked. I can say I regret having my root canals done-and I've had too many. Only you can decide what is right for you, but I would make sure you have a plan if you go extractions-will you do implants, a partial denture, etc.