23 Year old with broken and rotten baby tooth, needing extraction

[PaddedPuppy]

Hi

I have a condition that my dentist noticed years ago where 4 of my teeth are still my baby teeth and after an x-ray established that there were not going to be any adult ones to replace them. I'm now 23 years old and still have them.

One of these teeth (upper second premolar, right hand side) broke a long time ago and was filled. The tooth started to decay and could no longer be filled. For the last few years I have just repeatedly used a temporary filling kit to fix it for another few weeks rather than seeing the dentist but it is now becoming increasingly uncomfortable/painful and I cannot keep doing this.

There is a very thin bit of tooth at the front and back, both sides are black. The inner part of the tooth is completely missing. If I hadn't been filling it, it feels like it would snap very easily as there is so little tooth remaining.

I've been suffering a lot with anxiety lately and just feel like I am going to end up having a panic attack long before I can get anywhere near the dentists chair so just put it off again and again.

Can anyone tell me what to expect for a broken, rotten tooth like this to be removed? Will a dentist be able to pull it out still or is it going to be more complex now? I've read about them having to cut the gums and then break the tooth into pieces to be able to remove it which just sounds like way too much for me! How long would it take to do?

Finally, I need to be able to manage the pain and swelling afterwards but ibuprofen is basically not an option for me due to asthma.Is paracetamol enough on its own for the pain? And what about managing the swelling afterwards?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just really scared about this and think it may help a little if I know what to expect so I am at least not fearing the unknown.

Thanks!

 

[SummerSunshine]

I had my last two baby teeth removed earlier this year at the age of 22 (I turned 23 last month) The adult teeth for those never formed. Additionally, 2 or 3 other adult teeth never formed, and only 3 of my wisdom teeth had ever formed.

Motrin and Orajel was my best friend during those toothaches of mine from a broken decayed second molar. Part of that tooth had been broken down to the gum line and I was worried about having a surgical extraction, but I never did. The worse part is after the shot to numb the area but once after that, you won't be able to feel anything. She had to cut my tooth in half in order to get it out of my mouth, but she didn't have to cut the gum. She just cut in half and took the tooth out in pieces, it was taken out in 3 pieces if I remember correctly, but it was all over in about 10 or 15 minutes. And I feel so much better now that that tooth is gone.

I didn't need pain meds after the extraction. My mouth was numb for about 5 or 6 hours and I rinsed my mouth (very gently) with warm salt water and stuck to a soft food diet for a few days. But with the baby teeth, I found it to be easier than the permanent molar.

Believe me, it's worth it to get it out and be done with it. And then getting my baby teeth out took less than 10 minutes because as they were baby teeth, it was easier than if it were a permanent tooth.

 

[PaddedPuppy]

Well, I finally got back today and had it taken out! Dentist was great at calming my anxiety and dealing with my fear. Numbed the gums and waited a few minutes then told me to close my eyes and take slow, deep breaths. She was just talking away and I didn't realise until the 4th and final injection that I even had anything in my mouth, never mind a needle!

Again, another few minutes wait for that to kick in. A short conversation about my wisdom teeth and then we were ready. I was simply told to keep my mouth wide open and expect to feel a bit of pressure and maybe a little noise but not to worry about either. I heard a slight snap, a tiny bit of push-pull force and then about 30 seconds later all done. I saw the not so good state of the tooth on the back of her hand, bit down on some gauze and sat for a few minutes to make sure there wasn't too much blood.

In and out in about 15 minutes total. Nowhere near as bad as I was expecting and feel like I could go back to the dentist for my next check up with almost no fear at all!

Mouth is still a bit numb for now but I have paracetamol on standby if/when I Need it. Now just a case of letting it heal, preventing infection or dry socket, and looking forward to some proper food in the not too distant future!