Hi Tom,

You know what my reply is going to be to you about keeping an infected tooth. It is never a wise idea to retain an abscessed tooth and root canal therapy does not remove all of the necrotic tissue from the tooth..... meaning you are left with an infected tooth. You have been there and done that before, right?

This tooth will need to be replaced as the adjacent teeth will shift towards the open space. Discuss replacement options with your dentist and let me know what she says. You have a little time after the extraction to decide on the replacement.

A note on dental implants..... if the bone is adequate and healthy after this tooth is removed, you may be a good candidate for an implant. I feel an evaluation with an oral surgeon regarding this idea would be wise as they are often better at making that judgement call than a general dentist.

Tom, I have a question about this tooth.... you said the cavity was small and even forgot she filled this tooth. How then could it be that it abscessed so quickly after the filling was done? Did she tell you the cavity was deep or that she uncovered a pulpal exposure while drilling? Did she just patch up the tooth and tell you that it was not in good health?

Bryanna