Root canal Treatment for children: All you need to know!
Did you hear the words: Your child’s baby tooth needs a root canal!
What! Really! I had no idea that baby teeth need root canal treatment!
Really milk teeth need such extensive procedures too just like adult teeth!?
Are all these questions and many more running through your mind right now?
Sad but true! Children are prone to get decay just like adults too! Actually even more so prone because of their sweet eating monstrous abilities and lack of cooperation for brushing.
The reason why a root canal maybe needed is: to prevent further damage to the tooth, the nerve of the tooth and the adult tooth.
Here is what you need to know about root canal treatments for baby teeth:
Root canal treatment, which is also called pulp therapy, is an effective therapy that stops your child’s tooth pain. It protects your child’s tooth from being lost because of tooth decay or abscess infections.
Are you wondering: Don’t milky teeth fall out eventually?
True, milky teeth do fall out between the ages of 6 years for front teeth and 12 years for back molars. However, there are many important reasons for saving your child’s baby teeth as long as possible using root canal treatment. In fact, baby teeth are equally as important as adult teeth for us to hang onto.
Not only do Baby teeth have a very significant role to guide the growth and eruption of permanent teeth. Moreover, treating baby teeth prevents a child from experiencing pain and even worse dental abscess or facial cellulitis (a medical condition where the face swells up as a result of pus collecting because of an infected baby tooth).
Why do my child’s teeth need root canal therapy?
When a child develops a cavity that is not treated in time, the bacteria that lead to the cavity is able to reach the nerve of the tooth- which is the innermost layer of the tooth. Left in the nerve bacteria has such potential for causing further harm as it progresses along in the tooth and the jaws.
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What are the symptoms that indicate that my child needs a root canal?
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Symptoms that You May Notice:
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- Tooth pain. Your child might complain of pain spontaneously or perhaps at night before sleeping. He also may wake you up in the middle of the night crying in pain. The problem is this pain may disappear for a few days especially if you take any medication to numb the tooth ache. However, it usually returns much worse than before and no medications work then!
- Symptoms of infection like gum tenderness and swelling. Gum tenderness starts with a small red localized swelling around the tooth in question. It does eventually grow and sometimes it can lead to a swelling involving the entire face or even the eyes. This is pretty serious and it is better to rush to a local hospital especially if the child shows signs of fever and looking fatigued with no energy. Another sign can be a swollen lymph node and difficulty swallowing.
Do note that symptom experience varies from one child to the next. Your child may not have every symptom, and some children do not experience any symptoms at all! Weird but true!
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Symptoms that Your Dentist May Notice:
Your dentist should examine your child every 6 months. Regular visits to the dentist will keep your child’s teeth healthy. There are several signs and symptoms tells the dentist that your child needs a root canal which can’t be noticed by you or any untrained eye, including:
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- If your child’s tooth is darker in color after a hit to a front tooth
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- If your child has Drainage from infection or a sinus tract next to a tooth
- Your child’s gum change in color
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Your child’s dentist can find out these signs during regular checkups. If your pediatric dentist sees that your child may need a root canal, X-rays will be needed to diagnose properly.
Are baby root canals necessary for my child?
Absolutely! They do after all save a baby tooth from the impending doom of being extracted. After all, baby teeth were created for a reason! Think of all the amazing blessings your toddler or child uses his teeth for. Not only does that beautiful smile keep you going, but your child needs his teeth to digest food properly, to chew properly and learn to pronounce the words properly! Believe me, it is not “just a baby tooth that will fall out later,” if the baby tooth is left untreated, the infection will spread and it will affect your child’s permanent tooth. Moreover, it will cause pain, affect badly your kid’s eating diet, focus in school and your child may develop a bad infection that will require antibiotics or worse hospitalization.
Is Baby root canal Therapy safe for my child?
Absolutely Yes. Baby root canal treatment is safe for children. It takes place in the dentist office. An expert pediatric dentist will perform the procedure accurately, properly, in a time efficient manner and will use safe materials in the procedure that are compatible with your child’s body and cause no harm.
Root canal for children is not as complicated as root canal for adults. It is a much simpler procedure that is over in half an hour tops!
How to Prepare my Child for Root Canal Treatment?
Let’s agree. The outcome from the visit is for your child to sit and cooperate with the dental appointment to do the root canal treatment. Let’s be honest. It probably is a lengthy procedure and most kids are not too psyched about it. Describing the visit in kid-friendly language and giving your child an idea about the reason why we need to do a root canal- will definitely help the child understand and cooperate.
Baby Root canal’s procedure may be little discomfort, but it is very effective in relieving tooth pain! Anesthesia is used to block the sensation of pain and laughing gas or nitrous oxide can be used to help the child relax and focus elsewhere.
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Ideally after a root canal is done, your specialist pediatric dentist in MyPediaClinic – Dubai advises you of fitting a stainless-steel crown or a zirconia crown for children. Baby teeth after root canals become weak and may break, which may mean the tooth will not serve the child for the entire duration we want it to.
“To a lifetime of healthy happy smiles!”
