Pulpotomy Is Designed to Preserve the Nerve Tissue Within the Inner Pulp of Your Child’s Teeth
Is your child experiencing pain or difficulty when chewing and drinking? If so, it’s possible they may be experiencing decay in their primary (baby) teeth. And they’re not alone – over half of all kids aged 6 to 8 years have had a cavity in their baby teeth! The good news is that there is an effective form of treatment that can help save your child’s teeth from further damage – Pulpotomy!
What Is a Pulpotomy?
A pulpotomy is an oral surgery procedure that involves removing the infected pulp from the inside of the tooth and replacing it with dentin. This allows the tooth to continue functioning normally without any further damage or decay.
“Arctic Dental brings state-of-the-art pulpotomy techniques to Muscatine, designed to help preserve the health of your child’s natural teeth.
This procedure is commonly used in children when an infection has affected their primary tooth. The goal of a pulpotomy, according to Dr. Jarod, is to save the natural tooth while removing any infection, helping to prevent further damage or decay from occurring.
The Pulpotomy Treatment Process
The Pulpotomy treatment process involves three key steps to save a decayed tooth and prevent further complications.
Step 1: Local Anesthetic Administration – The first step involves administering local anesthetic (LAs) to numb the targeted area, and reduce pain and discomfort during the procedure.
Step 2: Decay Removal and Pulp Chamber Opening – After administering LA, the Muscatine pediatric dentist removes visible decay using specialized instruments and opens up the pulp chamber of the affected tooth to remove any dead or damaged tissue.Step 3: Pulp Tissue Removal and Crown Placement – The final step involves removing any remaining pulp tissue and treating the tooth with medication before placing a dental crown to protect it from further damage. This completes the pulpotomy treatment process and ensures the tooth’s longevity.
What Dental Issues Can a Pulpotomy Address?
This procedure is ideal for treating cavities caused by bacteria and trauma, as well as deep caries (holes) in baby teeth and abscesses (infections) on baby teeth.
Pulpotomies also help prevent future dental problems such as misalignment of adult teeth resulting from premature extraction of badly decayed baby teeth.
FAQs:
Pulpotomy vs Root canal, What’s the Difference?
It’s not uncommon to hear people referring to Pulpotomy and Root Canal interchangeably, however, they’re quite different procedures. A Pulpotomy works by preserving most of the natural pulp within a tooth, but only when damage is limited to the portion above the gum line.
Meanwhile, with a Root Canal, all of the pulp from your child’s tooth including the roots must be removed and replaced with a material called gutta-percha.
Are Pulpotomies Painful?
The answer is no, as we always provide our patients with anesthetic during the procedure.
However – as with any procedure – there can be some minor discomfort felt during and after the treatment.
After the procedure, however, there is likely to be some minor pain and/or swelling. If that does occur, Dr.Jarod will prescribe suitable pain relief medication to help your child through this period. All in all, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about concerning a pulpotomy!
Once the infection spreads to the roots, a root canal will be necessary. A pulpotomy is only partial removal of the pulp because we only remove the infected crown portion of the pulp, but leave the roots intact.
A special medication is applied to protect the existing pulp from infection. Then, the tooth is filled and may receive a dental crown. In a root canal, we remove all of the tooth’s pulp, including the roots in something called a pulpectomy. Then, the tooth’s canals are thoroughly cleaned and shaped.
This can take some time because a tooth can have 1 to 4 canals. Then, we will the tooth with gutta-percha and may place a crown on top. Root canals are performed on permanent teeth and more serious infections in baby teeth. If you think your child has a tooth infection, contact us at Arctic Dental today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Jarod.
How Long Does a Pulpotomy Procedure Last?
The length of time required for this procedure varies from patient to patient. That said, most pulpotomies only last for 30-45 minutes.