Root Canal for Children

Overview

When the nerve of your child’s tooth becomes infected or inflamed, a successful Baby root canal treatment helps you save the tooth and prevent the infection from spreading further. The main purpose of a root canal therapy for children is to maintain the integrity and health of your child’s tooth and the supporting gum tissue and bone. Saving the baby tooth is as important as saving a fully developed adult tooth, because a missing baby tooth can lead to problems relating to speech and eating. Above all, baby teeth serve as guides for the proper placement of the permanent teeth.

The Procedure

An anesthetic is administered to numb the tooth and the surrounding area. The infected pulp is removed from inside the tooth, cleaned, disinfected and filled with a biocompatible material, which stops the spread of infection and soothes the damaged pulp area. A crown is placed on the tooth to protect it.

The Symptoms

Your child may need a Pulpotomy if he/she experiences

• Persistent pain in a tooth or nighttime pain, for no apparent reason
• Swelling, redness or throbbing pain which typically denotes extensive pulp damage
• Tooth sensitivity to temperature changes
• Broken tooth with an exposed pulp
• Looseness or shifting of the affected tooth

The Eligibility

You child is an ideal candidate for Pulpotomy if he/she

• Suffers from chronic infection with a cyst at the root tip
• Suffers internal resorption
• Still has healthy tooth and the infection is not so advanced that the tooth is unable to be saved
• Has a tooth that has been fractured or when decay has entered the nerve chamber and causes intense pain
• Suffers bacterial attack that degenerates into death of the pulp
• Bites on the tooth and it elicits discomfort

The Risks Involved

The possible risks that may arise from a Baby root canal are pain, numbness, tooth fracture and even complete loss of tooth.

The Impact

If your child’s tooth has been symptomatic, Baby root canal therapy will likely alleviate the pain. Most importantly, it allows for the tooth to be preserved until it is ready to fall out naturally.

Preserving baby teeth is very important to the future oral health of your child. So save a baby tooth that may have extensive tooth decay, with Baby root canal.