Crowns & Pulp Therapy Q & A
What is pulp therapy?
Quite simply, pulp therapy treats, restores, and saves your child’s teeth to avoid extraction. The procedure is known by many other names, including:
Root canals
Pulpectomies
Nerve treatments
Pulp therapy is performed on baby teeth as well as adult teeth because the primary teeth serve important duties such as enabling speech, chewing, and maintaining the correct spacing and alignment for permanent teeth. Therefore, preserving your child’s baby teeth is equally as important as protecting the permanent ones.
What are the signs my child needs pulp therapy?
Some of the symptoms that indicate that your child might need pulp therapy include:
Constant tooth pain throughout the day and night
Sensitivity to temperature
Unexpected looseness or mobility of the tooth
Swelling or redness in the gums
If your child is experiencing any of these symptoms, have one of the dentists at Upper East Pediatric Dentistry take a look.
What happens during a pulp therapy procedure?
During a typical pulp therapy procedure, the dentist:
Removes the infected pulp
Cleans the tooth
Fills and seals the tooth
Thanks to modern dentistry, a pulp therapy treatment is often no more complicated or painful than getting a filling.
Is pulp therapy painful?
Modern advances in dental technology and anesthetics allow the dentists at Upper East Pediatric Dentistry to perform the treatment with minimal discomfort for your child. The dentists also offer sedation dentistry services for children who are particularly anxious.
There may be some minor discomfort after the treatment, but it can usually be treated with over-the-counter pain medication. The team at Upper East Pediatric Dentistry provides specific aftercare advice to help your child through the process with as little discomfort as possible.
Are crowns used in pulp therapy?
Yes. As with most pulp therapy procedures, the dentists at Upper East Pediatric Dentistry place a crown, also called a cap, on your child’s tooth after the procedure to provide protection. The crown is customized to your child’s mouth and looks and functions like a natural tooth.
To find out how pulp therapy can preserve your child’s teeth, call Upper East Pediatric Dentistry or book an appointment online.
