DS, 3 has a gum boil above one of his front teeth. It does not seem to bother him at all, the dentist noticed it when I took him for his first check up. Apparently they are caused by a bump to the tooth which causes an infection in the gum, which remains there unless the tooth is removed. Dentist was surprised it wasn't causing him any pain but he hasn't ever mentioned it and he can be a real drama queen, so we are pretty sure it is painless.
Dentist says that the textbook says the tooth should be removed to clear infection, which if left, will cause the first tooth to probably discolour and fall out earlier than it would naturally, but more importantly, to avoid the infection causing damage (again, discolouration, speckling) to the permanent tooth underneath. Of course with a 3yo though, tooth removal would require general anaesthetic.
So - what would you do? Risk GA and remove the tooth or take a chance with the knowledge that if the permanent tooth is discoloured (it may not be I guess), it can be fixed with cosmetic dentistry when he reaches his teens (after childhood with odd tooth)? I am inclined to leave it and take the risk rather than risk GA for cosmetic reasons. Obviously he will hate us for it when he is a teenager with a freckly tooth of course