Expert: Rafael Mosery,D.D.S. - 8/13/2007

Question
I have a broken tooth, that was once a cavity, but ended up getting chipped when volunteering at my churches local volleyball game, I went to our local dentist, and she said i needed to have the tooth extracted, and an implant put in. The tooth is one of the back molars, i think. Well she sent me to an oral surgeon, who because of the area we lived in was booked up for another month or so. In that waiting period of a few months, i ended up getting transfered across country, and not being able to attend. Because of this i haven't made a trip to the dentist or the oral surgeon in about a year, because of the complexity of my move. The tooth has been causing me minimal pain, but i noticed this last month that there has been swelling in the where the tooth was chipped away, it looks like part of my gum, thats just gotten really swollen, and lets out a smelly pus...It doesn't hurt much unless i eat cold foods, or poke it. I plan on making a trip to the dentist, as soon as possible, i just want a little in site to what i should be expecting. :(

Thanks.
Becka

Answer
Hi Rebecca,
Stop making excuses. Get this tooth out ASAP.Did you know that before antibiotics people used to die from dental infections? The tooth has to come out NOW.Having the tooth removed is an easy and painless procedure if you don't have a full blown infection.Just get it over with.