n The last molar of my upper jaw is broken. It was decaying and I could not go for treatment on time. Now the space is open as there is no tooth above the gumline and the root of the tooth is inside the gum, which can be felt when touched. The wound is open and bleeds. Do I have to take out the tooth or go for even detailed procedure?

— Prakriti Sitoula

The tooth you are talking about is the wisdom tooth. It is very common that this tooth is placed in an odd way at the corner off the mouth. Before you realise, there is a big cavity on the tooth and it breaks up. Looks like your condition is also the same where the crown portion of your tooth has broken off. In our part of the world, there is a big myth with this wisdom tooth. Some say it is connected to the eyes and some connect it with the brain, and some to even cancer. As far as I know, all this is false since almost everyone in the West have removed one or more of there molars. I don’t think you should retain the tooth and extract it without any hesitation.

Removal of the tooth is not going to affect the function or aesthetics.

— Dr Sameer Aryal