Wisdom tooth extraction with only one quarter of the tooth left intact

[mirrormirroronthewall55]

Help. I'm really panicking. I've had a troublesome wisdom tooth for years which has never fully come up from the gum.

A couple of years ago part of the tooth broke off (maybe half of it). Seen a specialist dentist who xrayed and said that due to the nerve being super close, I would need to be referred on the NHS for extraction in hospital under general anaesthetic.

Fast forward a couple of years, I've been taken off the waiting list a couple of times due to pregnancy. However I've now been back on it for 8 months and have received confirmation of a consultation appointment July 2025.

Reason for the post is that another large part of the tooth has just broken off leaving behind maybe one quarter of the original tooth. I've been reading a lot but panicking about how they can remove this now?! My dentist has also said that it will be traumatic removal and they may break some of my other teeth accidentally in the process as it's so awkward.

Has anyone got experience with this please?!

I had mine removed as a surgical extraction but my dentist was able to do it under local. It did take longer and I needed to have my gum stitched but it was honestly fine.

I had mine done fast as an emergency case as another practice snapped my tooth and didn’t tell me until I got home and the agony hit 😳

I had the same issue with the molar (I think) in front of the wisdom tooth. And I am the biggest wuss and scaredy cat of the dentist ever. To the point I don’t have a dentist and had to ring the emergency dental line to be seen.
had the quarter of a molar removed in a dentist with lots of local anaesthetic. It was horrible, loads of pushing down rather than pulling. They push down to widen the bone the tooth is in and it then like pops out. I think. No expert.
i was a wreck for 24 hours, needed cocodamol and ibuprofen round the clock, a bit grim for 48 but fine after that!

if you go in to hosp, the longest part of the procedure will be being put to sleep! And you’ll know nothing about it til you wake up. Good thing about the hospital is they’ll give you the strong pain relief after! Then just keep up with the pain relief and sipping water after

wish you lots of luck!!

They would break the tooth up anyway to remove it in bits if it's impacted (at least that's what they did with mine). Did you opt for GA rather than local or were you given no choice? My dentist told me the hospital waiting list in my area is quicker if you opt for local. Hopefully when you see the consultant in July they will give you some assurance about what they will do.

I had a broken one removed by a surgeon in a hospital with no problems, with local anaesthetic.
My dentist broke it when he tried to take it out, and then sent me to an emergency hospital surgeon.

Hi @Hedgerow2
I haven't been asked / didn't opt for GA, I've just been told by several dentists now that's it most likely that's what will be used. By the sounds of it I don't think I want to be awake for any of it

Hi @Catsonskis
Thanks for that, makes me feel a little better. Just don't understand how they get the roots out when there isn't any tooth left to pull on ?!

@mirrormirroronthewall55 - they don't pull on an impacted wisdom tooth. They make an incision in the gum, break the tooth up in situ then dig it and as much if the root out as they can. In my case they had to leave some of the root in for fear of nerve damage.

I have had two wisdom tooth removals. One local anaesthetic and one GA.

I will be honest, it’s a brutal experience if you are awake.

Trust me. What you want is to be put to sleep and then wake up and they have done it.

Don’t ask any questions about the in between part. That is their expertise and you do not need to know.

Then rest loads, take maximum painkillers, and don’t let yourself get constipated.

You will be fine and it’s worth it in the long run.

Mine was similar. Just had it done under local at the dentist. They took the tooth out in bits and left a small part in to avoid nerve damage. It was already partially broken. It was absolutely fine.

They will probably shave away the jawbone to get any partial fragments out. They did this with me due to all the roots having grown together so it was hard to get a grip on the part that was exposed. There's a chunk of my outer jawbone on both sides that's still missing. It sounds gruesome but honestly wasn't that bad. You don't feel anything even with local anaesthesia and it will just be more swollen afterwards. You have to be diligent with antibiotics to avoid infection but otherwise it's totally bearable.