Why do I have to have my tooth removed instead of filled?

Question

My lower back (not wisdom) tooth broke off but most of it is left with partial filling why cant the dentist fill in the hole instead of pulling the tooth out? It does hurt off and on now like the nerve is exposed..

Answer 1

Dentists prefer to remove wisdom teeth altogether because they can become impacted and infected easily. Most people don't have mouths big enough to accommodate wisdom teeth.

Answer 2

Do you have an upper tooth that opposes the bottom tooth? Bite your teeth together, stick your finger back there and feel for a top tooth that meets that bottom one. If there is no top tooth that meets the bottom one, the bottom one is useless. It cannot grind food without an opposing tooth. It collects plaque and decays easier.

If it does have an opposing tooth, I would question the dentist a little more to find out why he or she doesn't want to repair it. Pulling it out would leave a top tooth without opposition.

Answer 3

The nerve probably is exposed. It sounds like the tooth isn't strong enough to hold the filling, it's too weak. The best thing is to remove the tooth--root and all. Just think of all the pain you'll be in if you eat something like popcorn and get a kernel stuck in there!! OUCH!!!