Yes, it should've been removed well before the decay started; this was an inevitable result. It will be a surgical extraction requiring lifting up of the gum, then severing the tooth in 2 planes - first light green to remove the crown part, and then possibly dark green to divide the roots. For a competent general dentist, that is quite achievable; for an oral surgeon it'll be easy.
There are a few risks, as with any procedure:
- the filling in the 2nd molar may be damaged and need repair at another appointment. My first step before raising the gum would be to slice off the back edge of that lumpy amalgam (yellow line) to minimise this issue, and make the extraction easier.
- The red lines show a major nerve bundle (the IAN) under...
