Dr. Hall,
\nI have baby tooth that won’t come out and there is another tooth pushing on it, and it’s coming out the side of my gums. It doesn’t hurt but my dentist says that he should pull it out. So this has me thinking about a few things.
\n1. What will happen if I do NOT get it pulled? and
\n2. Does it hurt to get a tooth pulled? I know that a numbing agent is used, but when they inject the agent, does the needle hurt (mind you I am terrified of needles)? I am 14 years old a pretty scared. Thank you for your time and any help would be appreciated.
\n– Amanda from Michigan<\/p>\n
Amanda,
\nMy you write well. You sound better and write more clearly\u00a0than many adults who write to me.<\/p>\n
If you don’t get\u00a0this tooth extracted<\/a>, you could make the permanent tooth crooked and you’d have to get that fixed with braces<\/a> later. So you really should have it taken out. It’s so much easier to prevent these problems than to fix them later. Generally the rule is that if the permanent tooth starts to show in your mouth and the baby tooth hasn’t fallen out yet, that you should have the baby tooth extracted.<\/p>\n And generally when you have a baby tooth pulled that is just about to come out, it doesn’t take a lot of novocain. Most dentists will use a novocain ointment to numb the surface, and then they’ll give you the injection. Depending on the situation, and who the patient is and which tooth is coming out, sometimes the injection doesn’t hurt at all and sometimes it hurts a little. Sometimes the patient doesn’t even know they’re getting an injection. My best advice is not to think about it–that’s when it goes the best.<\/p>\n I hope this is helpful.
\nDr. Hall<\/p>\n\n
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