Do I have a cavity in my wisdom tooth?

[honeybee91]

I have an appointment in early September for an exam. First time in 8 years! I’m happy I found a good dentist and I’m trying not to let my anxiety cancel this appointment. Anyways I know I have gingivitis and possibly need a deep cleaning but now I’m worried that one wisdom tooth will need to be pulled because I saw a black spot on it I truly can’t tell if it’s coffee stained (I drink a lot of coffee) or decay. I have TMJ and I always have jaw pain on that side so I can’t tell if my sensitivity is from that. I’m worried now. Could my tooth be decayed? The thought of another wisdom tooth removal scares me because I’m so afraid of dry socket (I had 2 wisdom teeth removed a few years ago, couldn’t afford the other 2) should I be worried?

 

[Gordon]

Well it could be, but there's no way to tell from here Even if it's decayed, fillings can be done on wisdom teeth, it's not an automatic extraction.

 

[honeybee91]

@Gordon somehow I just assumed it always mean an extraction because the dentists I’ve gone to always recommend getting them out. So far I really haven’t had any issues *knock on wood* with the remaining two. Thank you for the response

 

[Gordon]

Well if the tooth was completely functionless then most people would probably say just to remove it rather than waste your money filling it, but if you wanted to keep it and it could be filled, then why not?