Many times, parents ask us, is there root canal treatment for children as well?
The answer is yes..today, we are going to talk in brief about the root canal treatment in children.
Let’s look at the tooth anatomy in deciduous teeth ( kids teeth ). The tooth consists of two parts
- Crown ( this part of the tooth which we see in the mouth.)
- Root ( this part of the tooth which is embedded in the bone.)
Crown consists of three layers as Enamel, the inner part is Dentine and innermost part which contains pulp. Pulp tissue is made up of blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue.
In deciduous teeth, the thickness of enamel and dentine is less compared to adult teeth as overall size and shape of deciduous teeth is small. When the decay starts, it quickly involves enamel and dentine, and in no time, it reaches the pulp. Once the pulp is involved, kid complaints of pain in the tooth and many instances there is slight swelling associated with the tooth.
In such condition, parents visit the nearest dentist with their kids. On examination, we usually advise the treatment of root canal to save the tooth.
Root Canal Treatment Procedure
Root canal treatment in children is the same as of root canal treatment in adult teeth.
Under proper anaesthesia, the decayed tooth is isolated with a rubber dam.
Slow speed drill is used to remove the decayed part of the tooth. the infected pulp is exposed and root canals are located. With different file systems, the root canals are cleaned and shaped to receive the biocompatible inert material. With different solutions, the canals are irrigated to achieve complete disinfection within the canal. And canals are filled with zinc oxide eugenol cement. With developed techniques and equipment we usually complete the root canal treatment in a single visit.
Once root canal treatment is completed, the tooth is covered with prefabricated crowns specially meant for deciduous teeth. You must follow some tips for root canal recovery.
What is the Difference Between root canal treatment in adult and children
- Adult/ permanent teeth are bigger compared to children / Deciduous teeth
- The material used to fill the canal is different in Permanent teeth than in Deciduous teeth
- Crowns are prefabricated for deciduous teeth and custom made for permanent teeth.
Why save the deciduous teeth??
Now one question will come in your mind. Why save the deciduous teeth?? as they are going to fall off after a few years. But Deciduous teeth (Milk Teeth) play a major role during the development of jaws, facial architecture and overall growth of the face and surrounding structures. Deciduous teeth not only help to chew the food it helps in phonetics. They act as space maintainers and provides the space for the erupting permanent teeth.
Early removal of deciduous teeth may lead to many problems like
- Delayed eruption of permanent teeth
- Constricted jaw development
- Malalignment of permanent teeth
- Malnutrition of kid and slow down the overall growth of the kid
- Disproportionate development of face
To avoid such problems, we try to save deciduous teeth. If you want to know more about root canal treatment. hesitate to contact us. Visit Our Dental clinic in Pune directly or call us on +91 7264008000.
About Author:
Dr. Rohit Joshi is a renowned Dentist in Pune and has more than 7 years of experience in the field of dentistry. He is Mastered in conservative dentistry and endodontics. He also specializes in single visit painless root canal treatment and aesthetic dentistry. He is always contributing his knowledge of dentistry through his blog. Learn More about Dr. Rohit Joshi.
Dr. Kashmira Joshi is a Dentist, Dynamic Dental surgeon and certified Implantologist. she has been practising in Microdent Dentistry enthusiastically for more than 5 years. she loves to write and share about new trends in dentistry through the blog.
