Root canal or extraction?

I had a wisdom tooth pulled in my twenties. Wasn't painful until the dentist says "oh my gosh." Thought something broke and it was off to oral surgeon. No, it all came out in one piece, one BIG piece. The x-ray did not show the third leg of the root that had grown behind the jawbone and then curved under it. I think getting the stitches out was the most uncomfortable part of that experience.