Hi Ali!
Well, it sounds like the tooth is pretty broken down, but please try not to worry. It is important that you go to the dentist as soon as possible because the black that you see is a cavity and it can be very deep. Cavities are a type of infection in a tooth and like any other infection in the body, it can spread to other areas of that tooth or even another tooth. The bleeding is a sign that bacteria has built up and this too is a sign of infection.

If it is a baby tooth, the infection can actually spread to the permanent tooth that is underneath, so it's not a good idea to ignore it. If the tooth has to come out, you will get a new one in it's place anyway.

If it is a permanent tooth, then you may only have two choices. One is to have a root canal and the other is to have it removed. Having a root canal is a temporary fix and you will find yourself at some point dealing with an infected tooth. Removing the tooth gets rid of the infection completely. Depending on where it is in your mouth, the dentist may put a temporary space maintainer in after the extraction to keep the other teeth from shifting unnaturally into that space. Then when you are a little older, you could have a dental implant put in there.

I know it all sounds a bit scary, but generally teeth come out very easily in children your age and you will heal very quickly.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing!

Bryanna ~'.'~