Root Canal Treatment for Children

How Much Do You Really Know About Root Canal Treatment for Children?

As a child, losing one’s milk teeth for a set of permanent ones can be eventful, devastating, painful or annoying a root canal treatment can help alleviate a few complications that arise during this phase. Most parents don’t pay much attention to this process unless it doesn’t adversely affect the child’s daily life. Losing milk teeth is a natural process which every person undergoes once in their lifetime, but this has led to a general lack of awareness towards the minor details of this process. Every milk tooth is a place holder for a permanent tooth that would sprout in its place, the process is gradual and occurs in multiple steps. However, in some cases when a child has poor oral care habits or poor diet it can cause milk tooth to fall at an earlier time. This premature loss of milk tooth paves way for the growth of infection in its position, sometimes causes the position of the tooth to shift setting groundwork for the development of a misaligned tooth in future and more importantly severe pain & discomfort while speaking or chewing. Undergoing a root canal treatment when such an incident occurs can help your child overcome these complications and complete this phase with a proper permanent tooth.

Choice of Root Canal Treatment Available for Children- Pulpotomy and Pulpectomy

Your Pedodontist would advise you to opt from one among the following root canal treatment options based on the degree of infection and alignment of nearby tooth: 

Pulpotomy: This procedure involves removing only the affected part, the infected tissue is removed from the pulp leaving healthy tissue intact.

This procedure is recommended when the immature tooth’s root apex is still open, the infection hasn’t reached the roots and while dentin is thin. The residual healthy tissue aids in forming the secondary dentin and root closure.

This procedure helps keep the pulp intact and assists in properly developing permanent tooth, the tooth that has undergone pulpotomy is still vulnerable to bacterial infection and in some severe cases, the procedure can fail. Although a stainless steel crown is required to provide adequate support, a pulpotomy is still the fastest and cheapest procedure.

Pulpectomy: This procedure is similar to pulpotomy, however, in this case, the entire pulp is removed unlike in pulpotomy where only the affected part is removed, finally, the pulp is replaced with a dental filling material.

It is recommended when the child’s tooth is diagnosed for pulpitis, especially in cases where the child suffers from a periapical abscess or when there is a sinus opening. It helps prevent tooth loss and has a high success rate.

Undergoing this procedure helps retain space for the time when the child’s permanent tooth erupts, it also restores the normal functioning of the tooth and relives the toothache. There is a minuscule chance of developing tooth discolouration due to cement used in filling, thus it is recommended replacing the tooth with a crown.

Conclusion

Neglecting premature loss of milk tooth can lead to:

• Formation of puss and infection, adversely affecting the permanent tooth.
• Risk chances of developing misaligned tooth and jaw.
• Developing habits such as being unable to properly enunciate or chew.

Thus, it is recommended that you give your child the best dental attention and avoid future complication.