Can I extract a tooth if it hurts? Will it kill the pulp?

If you do not pay attention to tooth care on a daily basis, you will suffer from tooth disease and toothache over time. When toothache occurs, patients wish to have the tooth pulled out immediately to put an end to it all. But does it mean that if you have toothache, you must have the tooth extracted? Is it necessary to have the tooth extracted? In fact, there are many causes of toothache. It is not recommended to extract teeth unless it is absolutely necessary. It is best to focus on treatment.

1. Can I have my tooth pulled out if it hurts?

Some patients want the doctor to extract their teeth immediately because of toothache. However, in many cases, tooth extraction is not necessary or cannot be performed because no matter how good the dentures are, they are not as comfortable to use as real teeth. Therefore, you should keep your teeth unless it is absolutely necessary. But why is it that sometimes we can’t have a tooth extracted when we need one? Because when you have a toothache, the teeth and surrounding tissues are often in an acute inflammatory stage. At this time, tooth extraction will not only have a poor anesthetic effect, but also cause bleeding to be more severe than usual. What's worse, it will cause the spread of inflammatory substances and cause systemic infection.

Therefore, in the case of acute pericoronitis and acute apical periodontitis, doctors often recommend anti-inflammatory treatment before further treatment.

2. Can toothache kill the pulp?

Some patients cannot eat whatever they want because of tooth decay. At this time, the patient's wish is that the doctor will fill the hole and put an end to it. However, in many cases, tooth decay has already endangered the pulp. Simple restorative treatment may not eliminate pulp inflammation, but will increase the difficulty of future treatment. Some patients think that since retaining the pulp will bring hidden dangers, it would be better to kill the pulp at the beginning. However, as dentists, we recommend that patients preserve the vitality of the dental pulp first, because teeth that lose their pulp vitality will not only lose strength but also become darker in color. If the symptoms still cannot be relieved after trying conservative treatment, it is not too late to consider killing the pulp. As for when to kill and when to keep the teeth, patients should still trust the judgment of professional dentists.