Question:
I once heard a teaching—perhaps from Halacha, Kabbalah, or the Rebbe—that a person should never have a tooth pulled. I’m not sure of the exact source. Right now, I have a tooth causing extreme pain, and my dentist says the only effective treatment is to extract it. A filling would be risky and probably wouldn’t solve the issue. What should I do?
Answer:
There is a statement in the Talmud advising that one should avoid pulling teeth, and it is known that certain great tzaddikim and chassidim were very careful to refrain from extracting teeth whenever possible. However, as guidance for the public in our times, the Rebbe consistently instructed people to follow the recommendations of qualified medical professionals. When a doctor advises that a tooth should be pulled, the Rebbe directed that one should follow the doctor’s orders.
I am attaching (or sending) here the complete reference for you.
Sources:
Pesachim 113a: “Rav said to his son Chiyya: Do not drink medicine, and do not cross rivers,
and do not extract a tooth, and do not provoke a snake”
Igros Kodesh 8:318: “Greetings and blessings. In response to your letter — which arrived without a date — together with the enclosed pidyon nefesh, which on Lag BaOmer I will read at an auspicious time at the holy resting place of my revered father‑in‑law, the Rebbe, of blessed memory. You write that several doctors advise you to remove some of your teeth, and for the time being you have not agreed to do so. Although it is stated in Pesachim 113a, ‘Do not uproot a tooth,’ it is already well known that the natural order of medical matters mentioned in the Talmud has changed. You also mentioned hearing a report in the name of the holy Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, and I too have heard stories about the righteous Rabbi Hillel of Paritch—that they would not extract teeth. However, for us, we can rely only on what we saw in the Rebbe’s household: that they followed the instructions of medical professionals in these matters. This applies especially in your situation, where the doctor says that the health of the entire body is dependent on this.”
Igros Kodesh 13:79: 19 Iyar 5716. Brooklyn. Greetings and blessings. In regard to what you wrote about tooth pain, and that the doctors advise extraction, etc.: Although it is known from our Sages (Pesachim 113a) concerning the matter of extracting teeth — and chassidim relate that for this reason the renowned and pious Rabbi Hillel of Paritch, may his memory be blessed, was careful never to extract a tooth — nevertheless, I have not seen people careful about this, not even in the Rebbe’s household. This is understood based on the well‑known principle regarding the medical treatments mentioned in the Talmud, that ‘the natural order has changed.’ Moreover, it is forbidden to experiment with these (ancient remedies), as brought from the Mahari”l regarding lo sisgodedu in Yoreh De’ah 116. One time I heard from my revered father‑in‑law, the Rebbe, that even the incantation for someone who has a bone stuck (Shabbos 67a), which they used to teach even to the children of the Rebbe’s household, was recited — when unfortunately necessary — only after first placing a plate upon the head. Therefore, although it remains questionable whether one should go to the extreme of following the advice of a certain doctor who recommended removing all the teeth, Heaven forbid — one should certainly consult additional experts in this matter. Possibly one or two other opinions will be sufficient, etc.”
