Gentle Yet Effective Pediatric Root Canal Therapy
If your pediatric dentist recommends a root canal for your child, your mind begins to race immediately. Is a root canal safe? Is it really necessary? Why not extract the tooth? At Hoover Dental Center serving residents in Los Angeles, California, we understand you may have many questions regarding pediatric endodontic therapy. Dr. Hee Jee Yoon explains everything you need to know about root canals in children.
Is root canal treatment necessary in children?
Why should we try to save the tooth when it’s going to fall out anyway? That’s true because kids’ baby teeth start falling out between ages 6 and 12 years. However, several reasons exist for saving the tooth when threatened to fall out prematurely.
If your child’s tooth is extracted prematurely, the issues below may develop:
- Difficulty chewing
- Slurred speech
- The surviving teeth start shifting or overlapping
- Bite misalignment
To avoid subjecting your child to the above oral problems, it’s pertinent to save the tooth with a root canal. Endodontic therapy “buys time for the tooth,” allowing it to fall out naturally when the right time comes.
Why is a root canal needed?
Unlike its hard outer surface, the inside of your tooth contains a pulp rich in blood vessels, nerves, and other soft tissues. When an infection reaches the inside of the tooth, the soft tissues need to be flushed out to stop the disease. This way, we can save your child’s tooth from extraction.
However, removal is the only option when the tooth is severely damaged or decayed. In such cases, we install a space maintainer to fill the gap as we wait for permanent teeth to erupt.
What to expect during your child’s root canal therapy?
You may have heard many horror stories about root canals, but most of these myths aren’t factual. The procedure causes a bit of discomfort, but it’s pretty successful in relieving tooth pain. Before treatment, your child is fully anesthetized for comfort. If your child has dental anxiety, we have kid-friendly sedation options to calm your little one.
The treatment is no more different from the one done on adults. We use an access hole at the top of the tooth to remove, clean, and disinfect the pulp chamber and the root canals. We fill the tooth with gutta-percha to seal out future infections. Finally, we restore the tooth with a dental filling. A crown may or may not be needed.
Entrust your child’s oral care with a gentle pediatric dentistDo you still have more questions about endodontic treatment for children? Want to schedule your child for a root canal in Los Angeles, CA? Please partner with Hoover Dental Center for all your child’s dental care needs, including root canal treatment. Call (213) 725-2898 to schedule an appointment.
