Lower molar removed

[Ruffles]

Hi a week ago a filling fell out of my lower molar and about a quarter of the tooth was missing, the dentist said the only option was to have it pulled out, do you think he was correct? Anyway l had it pulled out , and its been very painful since , got dry socket , they put some gel stuff in it and said the pain should go in ten days. Theres a big hole where the tooth used to be, does that fill in with new bone over time? l think he said he had to leave some root in there. The tooth next to the hole hurts a bit or is sensitive when l tap it, is that to be expected, will that stop once the hole is healed?
The removed lower molar is the second tooth from the right end, its the only tooth l have ever had pulled apart from my wisdom teeth. l can only eat on the left hand side of my mouth now , but once it is healed will l be able to chew and eat OK on the right hand side without the molar, will l get used to eating without it? ALso what are the chances that other teeth next to it and above it may move out of place over time causing more problems. Would it take years for the teeth to move or could it happen soon? Should l look into getting a replacement tooth or would it be OK to leave the space empty, what do most people do?​

 

[Gordon]

Hi a week ago a filling fell out of my lower molar and about a quarter of the tooth was missing, the dentist said the only option was to have it pulled out, do you think he was correct? Anyway l had it pulled out , and its been very painful since , got dry socket , they put some gel stuff in it and said the pain should go in ten days. Theres a big hole where the tooth used to be, does that fill in with new bone over time? l think he said he had to leave some root in there. The tooth next to the hole hurts a bit or is sensitive when l tap it, is that to be expected, will that stop once the hole is healed?
The removed lower molar is the second tooth from the right end, its the only tooth l have ever had pulled apart from my wisdom teeth. l can only eat on the left hand side of my mouth now , but once it is healed will l be able to chew and eat OK on the right hand side without the molar, will l get used to eating without it? ALso what are the chances that other teeth next to it and above it may move out of place over time causing more problems. Would it take years for the teeth to move or could it happen soon? Should l look into getting a replacement tooth or would it be OK to leave the space empty, what do most people do?​

Wow, I think that breaks a record for the most questions in a single paragraph Apologies if I miss some of them...
1) Was he correct? No idea without seeing things first, sorry
2) Yes, bone fills in eventually
3) Yes, it can be sensitive, try some sensitive tooth toothpaste rubbed into the neck of the sensitive tooth by your finger, don't rinse it off, leave it on as long as you can
4) What to do next is up to you, do you have a wisdom tooth down there that could erupt into the space? Most people won't bother to replace a second molar, you can chew fine without it.

 

[Ruffles]

Wow, I think that breaks a record for the most questions in a single paragraph Apologies if I miss some of them...
1) Was he correct? No idea without seeing things first, sorry
2) Yes, bone fills in eventually
3) Yes, it can be sensitive, try some sensitive tooth toothpaste rubbed into the neck of the sensitive tooth by your finger, don't rinse it off, leave it on as long as you can
4) What to do next is up to you, do you have a wisdom tooth down there that could erupt into the space? Most people won't bother to replace a second molar, you can chew fine without it.

Thanks for your answer.


regards 4) l had my wisdom teeth out 15 years ago . Are wisdom teeth called the third molar? The tooth extracted is the second from the end , so l think it was actually the first molar that was removed not the second molar? if its the first molar that's missing should l get a replacement? maybe an implant
l read that sometimes the tooth above the extracted tooth and erupt downward and come out of its socket and the neighbouring teeth can move sideways towards the hole if its not replaced. Does that happen a lot or only sometimes?

 

[Gordon]

Yes, wisdom teeth are correctly called 3rd molars.

In theory yes, the upper tooth can keep erupting looking for something to bite against, also teeth can drift about into the gap but it's not usually a problem. My wife had all 4 of her 1st molars extracted many years ago, she's never had them replaced, the uppers have drifted forward to close the space but the lowers never have. She copes perfectly well with them, seeing as she eats a lot more than I do

 

[Ruffles]

Yes, wisdom teeth are correctly called 3rd molars.

In theory yes, the upper tooth can keep erupting looking for something to bite against, also teeth can drift about into the gap but it's not usually a problem. My wife had all 4 of her 1st molars extracted many years ago, she's never had them replaced, the uppers have drifted forward to close the space but the lowers never have. She copes perfectly well with them, seeing as she eats a lot more than I do

Thanks, so its probably unlikely l will have problems with shifting teeth and l should get used to eating without a lower 1st molar. l guess if l see the dentist regularly he can keep an eye on them to see if they start to shift . The only other problem l have is the tooth next to the extraction hole hurts when l tap it with my finger , it doesn't hurt when l eat. l will try sensitive tooth paste like you said. Its only been 12 days since extraction, do you think that problem will go away in a few weeks once the extraction hole is healed, l just hope the dentist didn't damage that tooth when he pulled its neighbour out. it was a long fairly difficult extraction, l think he had to cut the tooth in half to get it out.

 

[Gordon]

Nah, he won't have damaged the tooth, he might have put a bit of bruising on the wee ligament that holds the tooth in place though, don't worry, that sorts itself out fairly quickly. You sometimes have to kind of use the next tooth along as a fulcrum to lever the broken bits out, it's not ideal but it's the best way to get the tooth out.