In some cases our dentist may see an extremely decayed baby tooth that affects the pulp of the tooth. The pulp of the tooth holds all the nerves and blood vessels in the tooth. Once decay has reached this area your child could have the following symptoms and may need Pulp Therapy:
- Constant unexplained pain.
- Nighttime pain.
- Sensitivity to warm and cool food temperatures.
- Swelling or redness around the affected tooth.
- Unexpected looseness or mobility of the affected tooth.
If the dentist determines that your child needs pulp therapy they will remove the pulp to relieve the pain and place a crown over the tooth in most cases.
Some parents may ask us to remove the tooth instead of performing this procedure on their child. In some cases this may be acceptable, however there could be consequences of prematurely extracted/missing teeth. Some of them are listed below:
- Arch length may shorten.
- In the case of primary tooth loss, permanent teeth may lack sufficient space to emerge.
- Opposing teeth may grow in a protruding or undesirable way.
- Premolars may become painfully impacted.
- Remaining teeth may “move” to fill the gap.
- The tongue may posture abnormally.
To schedule an appointment for your child today with one of our dentists please contact our team at Carrera Dental and Braces.