Hello doctor,My wife's dentist says that my wife has to get a tooth pulled in order for him to do dental work on my wife's adjacent tooth. My wife lost a piece of a filling and the dentist says he needs to take out the remaining filling, and then re-fill it. But in order to do that, he needs to pull the adjacent tooth. Could you please tell me if my wife really needs to have this tooth pulled? I will send you a picture.
Hello. How are you doing? First of all, there is nothing to worry. I have seen the pictures (attachment removed to protect patient identity). The tooth that the dentist is mentioning for removal is the upper wisdom tooth. It has not erupted completely. The age for its eruption ranges between 18-25 years. Mostly, in such cases or after this age, we recommend for its removal because, in the future, this might cause an infection, cheek bite, or other problems. I can guide you more about this if you can provide me with an X-ray (OPG or IOPA. OPG will be better). Now, regarding the filling, I think it must be towards that wisdom tooth side and that is why the doctor is asking for its removal so that he can properly contour and fill the tooth. Otherwise, it will be difficult (I cannot visualize much of the broken filling in the image). I will need an image from occlusal (chewing surface) aspect. Again, I need an X-ray of that tooth for a proper diagnosis. You do not have to worry. The tooth removal will be done under local anesthesia only. She will be fine. You can revert back with image and X-ray for further information. Feel free to ask further queries. Take care. Revert with more information to a dentist online -->