Kids Root canal Treatment

Children are at a much greater risk of developing dental infections than adults. Their teeth are 'softer' and are under constant attack by acids that originates from the typical child's high sugary diet.

If your child’s toothache is not going away—especially if the toothache persists for over 24 hours—you should call your dentist to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Many times even if the pain does subside, the chance of possible tooth decay or infection is very high and your child needs to be assessed by the dentist.

My Tooth Is Sore!
If your child experiences toothache, chances are that we need to remove the nerve from the tooth. This is usually called root canal treatment in adults, but in children's teeth, only the top part of the nerve in the pulp chamber is removed hence the name, a pulpotomy. A pulpotomy is when the pulp (inside of the tooth) is removed in baby teeth in order to save the tooth. Without the pulpotomy, there is no other way to remove the pain except for taking the tooth out.  Once the infection has been cleared, a kiddies dental crown is usually recommended to restore a baby tooth to full function.

Shouldn't the tooth just be removed?
It might seem like a lot of effort to carry out a pulpotomy on baby teeth, which are going to fall out anyway, but baby teeth are very important for maintaining the structure of your child’s jaw and ensuring the adult teeth emerge in the right place. If the baby teeth are removed prematurely, the adjacent teeth will tip over and close up some of the space and prevent the new adult teeth from erupting properly. This will result in too little arch space and therefore the adult teeth will come out skew.
Furthermore, a pulpotomy will ensure any infection does not spread to neighbouring teeth or the surrounding gums.

		Never take out a baby tooth too early. The adult teeth can come out skew.

Pulpotomy procedure
After your little one is comfortable, the tooth will be numbed up and he/she is ready for the pulpotomy. The tooth will be cleaned out(as in the case of a deep filling) and the dentist will remove the infected pulp tissue. The rest of the nerve tissue is left intact and 'sealed-off' wit a special dressing. Finally, a putty is placed over this dressing and the tooth is now ready for a big 'oversized' filling or kid's dental crown. A kid's dental crown protects the tooth against breaking and restores function and strength.

Kids Services