Posted by writeradmin
I don’t know what is going on and I wonder if I can trust this pediatric dentist. My son had a sore tooth. I took him to see the dentist and he said it is infected and needs a pulpotomy. When I asked what that was he switched it to a root canal treatment. That had my warning bells off because he switched the name. Why not just say what it was to begin with? This is a baby tooth. Why in the world would it need a root canal treatment. Couldn’t he just take it out?
Ellie
Dear Ellie,
If it is a back molar, than your son will need to keep that tooth until he is around twelve, so saving that tooth is a good idea. If it is extracted, then the other teeth will shift or tip into the open space. This will leave him with overcrowded teeth when his permanent molars come in, and then you’ll need to spend money on braces.
If it isn’t a molar, then you can get away with extracting the tooth. You didn’t say which tooth it was, so I was just checking that first.
As for the difference in terms, a pulpotomy is a child’s version of a root canal treatment. It’s not as extensive because the tooth does not have to stay in his mouth forever.
The other option would be to extract his tooth, but then you would need to place a space maintainer in it’s place in order to prevent crowding. Honestly, though, that is a more traumatic appointment and I’d go with the pulpotomy.
To make things as easy as possible for your son, I’d make sure that your pediatric dentist offers dental sedation options. If he doesn’t, I’d go with another pediatric dentist or even a general dentist who treats children. You want your son’s experiences with the dentist to be as positive as possible.
This blog is brought to you by a friendly dentist in Baton Rouge, Dr. John Theriot.