Curative therapies
Root canal treatment for kids in Kharghar, done gently
A root canal sounds like a big thing to say to a child. In practice, a baby tooth root canal is a quiet, numbed treatment that saves a tooth your child still needs for years, and it is far kinder than living with an ache. Here is what it involves, and how we keep it calm.
Pulpotomy or pulpectomy, chosen by how deep the decay has reached.
- Always
- Parents stay in the room, from hello to goodbye
Signs a tooth may need a root canal
Children do not always say a tooth hurts. These are the signs worth acting on.
Toothache that wakes them at night, or pain that lingers after hot or cold food.
A small pimple on the gum near a tooth. It may come and go, and often means infection.
Swelling of the gum or face around a decayed tooth. Call us the same day.
A large, dark cavity that has gone deep, even if it does not hurt yet.
A tooth turning grey after a fall, which can mean the nerve inside is struggling.
Chewing on one side only, or suddenly refusing food they usually love.
How the treatment goes
Numb, gently
A numbing gel goes on first, so the injection that follows is barely felt. Laughing gas is there if your child needs extra calm.
Clean the inside
The infected pulp is removed, from the crown of the tooth only (pulpotomy) or from the roots too (pulpectomy).
Fill and seal
The space is filled with a material made for baby teeth, which still need to loosen naturally when the adult tooth arrives.
Protect with a crown
Most treated back teeth get a small crown, so the tooth stays strong until it is ready to fall out on its own.
In detail
Root canal for kids, explained
Why save a baby tooth at all?
Some baby teeth, especially the back molars, stay in place until about eleven or twelve. Losing one early can let the neighbouring teeth drift into the gap, leaving too little room for the adult tooth and making crowding more likely later.
An infected baby tooth also sits right above the adult tooth that is forming underneath it. Treating the infection protects that tooth, and lets your child sleep, eat and concentrate without a nagging ache.
Pulpotomy and pulpectomy, plainly
Inside every tooth is the pulp: soft tissue with the nerve and blood supply. When decay reaches it, the pulp becomes inflamed or infected, and that is what causes the ache.
A pulpotomy removes only the affected pulp in the crown of the tooth and keeps the healthy pulp in the roots. A pulpectomy is needed when infection has spread down into the roots, so the whole pulp is cleaned out and the roots are filled.
For a young adult tooth whose roots are still growing, we choose treatments that help the root keep developing, so the tooth stays strong for life.
Does a root canal hurt?
The aim is a treatment your child does not feel. The tooth is fully numbed before anything begins, and for many children the ache they came in with is the worst part of the whole story.
Afterwards, the area can feel tender for a day or two. Soft food and the pain relief your pediatrician recommends are usually all that is needed.
Aftercare at home
- Wait until the numbness wears off before eating, and watch that they do not chew their lip or cheek.
- Keep to soft food for the rest of the day.
- Brush as normal, gently around the treated tooth.
- Call us if swelling, fever or pain gets worse rather than better after a couple of days.
- Keep the follow-up visit, so we can check the tooth and fit or review the crown.
Questions, answered
If yours is not here, call the clinic and ask. Nothing about a child’s teeth or comfort is too small to check.
Call +91 96190 00971Is a root canal on a baby tooth really necessary?
Often, yes. The tooth may have years left to serve, it holds space for the adult tooth, and leaving an infection can harm the adult tooth underneath. The alternative is taking it out and usually fitting a space maintainer, and we will talk you through both.
How long does a root canal for a child take?
It is usually finished in a single visit. How long it takes depends on the tooth and how your child is doing on the day, and we will give you an idea once we have looked.
Will my child need a crown afterwards?
Most treated back teeth do, because a tooth that has had a root canal is weaker and a crown stops it breaking. There are silver stainless steel crowns and tooth-coloured ones, and we will suggest which suits the tooth.
Can the treatment be done under laughing gas?
Yes. For a nervous child, laughing gas can make the visit calm and comfortable while they stay awake. For a very young child, or one needing a lot of treatment, general anaesthesia is another option we can discuss.
What if we just take the tooth out instead?
Sometimes that is the right call, for example when a tooth cannot be saved or is close to falling out anyway. When a baby tooth comes out early, we usually fit a space maintainer to keep room for the adult tooth.