Common Procedures
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Fillings
Composite resin fillings are placed for smaller areas of decay on primary or permanent teeth. Tooth decay does not heal or resolve on its own. This dental restoration provides a natural-looking outcome and is often not noticeable to the eye. In some cases, your child’s dentist will recommend a crown instead of a filling for large cavities or teeth that require nerve treatments because the strength and structure of the tooth are often compromised.
Pulpotomy
Pulpotomy is a treatment performed when the nerve or pulp tissue of a primary tooth is infected and needs to be treated to prevent a dental abscess and loss of the tooth. Pediatric dentists use it to save a severely decayed primary tooth where the decay has reached the inner layer of the tooth. It is similar to a root canal, also commonly known as a baby tooth root canal. Pulp therapy involves removing the decayed tissue to prevent the loss of the tooth or the spread of infection.
Teeth can become infected due to oral trauma as well. If your child slips and falls and breaks or cracks a tooth, bacteria can enter the tooth and cause an infection. It is essential to get emergency care if your child experiences an oral injury. Regardless of how the infection happens, the result is the same. Over time, the bacteria will attack the inside of the tooth and eventually cause irreversible damage to the tooth.
What To Expect During a Pulpotomy
Your child’s doctor will remove the infected and damaged portion of the pulp from the tooth and place a layer of medication that helps protect the remaining pulp from infection. After this, your child’s tooth will be protected with a stainless steel crown that will fall off with the tooth when it is time.
What Is The Difference Between A Pulpotomy And A Root Canal Treatment?
Although they may sound similar, a few key differences exist between a baby root canal (pulp therapy) and an adult root canal. First, permanent fillings are not placed in the nerve canal during a baby root canal, so the tooth can naturally be lost when it is time. Secondly, decay spreads at a quicker rate in baby teeth than it does in adult teeth. Therefore, the need for pulp therapy can be greater than the need for an adult root canal.
Following a Pulpotomy treatment, a crown will be placed to protect the remaining tooth.
Crowns
Dental crowns are typically recommended for children with dental injuries such as a broken tooth or decay beyond repair. Even though baby teeth will fall out, restoring the tooth is crucial to ensure proper dental development.
A crown is a “cap” cemented onto an existing tooth that usually covers the portion of the tooth above the gum line. In effect, the crown becomes the tooth’s new outer surface.
Crowns are needed when tooth structure remains insufficient to hold a filling. Unlike fillings, which apply the restorative material directly into the tooth, a crown is prefabricated. The crown is then adjusted for your child so that their bite and jaw movements function normally once the crown is placed.
Stainless Steel Crowns
Stainless Steel Crown Stainless steel dental crowns are considered an excellent restoration to save a primary tooth until the permanent tooth can erupt and take its place. A primary tooth can be restored with a stainless steel crown in one appointment.
NuSmile® Crowns
We offer NuSmile Crowns for our patients needing front teeth restorations. NuSmile Crowns are designed to provide access to a strong, color-stable, and full-coverage option to protect the remaining tooth structure. The front surface of the crown is the color of actual teeth, so the restoration does not stand out.
Zirconia Crowns
Zirconia crowns provide a durable and esthetically pleasing option for addressing areas of tooth decay, including primary teeth in children. From an esthetic perspective, Zirconia crowns are among the most esthetic dental restorative options. Zirconia crowns are recommended on a case-by-case basis, so be sure to ask your child’s dentist if this is an option for your child.
What to Expect When My Child's Crown is Placed
The first step to placing a dental crown is removing any decayed tissue. Your child will receive local anesthetics to ensure they don’t feel any pain or discomfort while having their crown placed. Your child’s dentist will remove decayed tissue and reshape the remaining healthy tissue. After the tooth has been prepared, the next step is to determine the correct size of the dental crown. Once the proper-fitting crown has been determined, it will be permanently cemented to the tooth’s surface.
Extractions
There are times when it is necessary to remove a tooth when it is infected, abscessed, or damaged beyond repair from decay or trauma, or it is blocking the path of eruption of other teeth. When it is determined that a tooth needs to be removed, in some cases, after removing primary teeth, a space maintainer may be necessary to ensure adequate space for a permanent tooth to erupt.
Space Maintenance
A space maintainer is recommended when a back baby tooth is removed early. A space maintainer can be placed to reduce the chance of crowding when adult teeth fully erupt. The space maintainers are made of stainless steel and are fixed (cemented to the teeth). The space maintainer should stay in until the adult tooth is ready to come in.