UKC

Went to the dentist today after having had a tooth snapped off yesterday. It broke off at the gum level and I can just feel the remains of it with my tongue.

I assumed the dentist would remove the root but he said it wouldn't do any harm if left. Bit surprised - anyone know if this is usual?

In reply to FesteringSore:

does it hurt? If not then leaving as is will just take a few days for you to become accustomed to it and then you won't notice the difference. Removing a tooth and root is a pretty unpleasant process and risks infection.

Might be more to it too but that's my first thought.

In reply to FesteringSore:

Had a similar situation and the dentist fired in a couple of pins and built up a resin filling. Not to full tooth height as the foundation is too weak, but better than nothing.

In reply to Scarab9:


No. I just thought there might still be a risk of infection. Actually I had an extraction last year and, compared with days of old, did not find it very unpleasant apart, maybe for the bit of pain after the numbness wore off.

In reply to FesteringSore:

Ouch!
I had a similar experience. An old filling 'collapsed' but the dentist was able to fit a 'crown'
which was quite expensive but better than a gap or false tooth, and without any infection. Works as new.