If your child is suffering from a toothache, we can help with made-just-for-kids treatments like pulpotomies. Our team will be able to get your child out of pain and restore their dental health so they can get back to laughing and smiling quickly.
When decay reaches past the enamel and into the pulp — the nerve and blood supply at the centre of a tooth — a filling is no longer enough, because the inflamed tissue inside will keep hurting. A pulpotomy removes the affected pulp from the crown of the tooth, treats what remains, and seals it, so the tooth can stay in place and do its job until it is due to come out naturally.
Parents know this as a “baby root canal,” which is close enough. The difference from an adult root canal is that a pulpotomy deals with the pulp in the crown only, leaving the healthy tissue in the roots alone — an approach that works because a baby tooth is designed to be shed.
It would often be faster to remove the tooth. The reason we try not to is space: baby teeth hold the positions that permanent teeth follow, and losing a molar early can crowd the arch and leave the permanent tooth without a path. Avoiding that is why space maintainers exist, and keeping the natural tooth does the same job better. A pulpotomy also lets your child chew normally on that side and keeps them out of the emergency visits an untreated infection eventually causes.
Toothache that lingers rather than passing in seconds, pain that wakes your child at night, sensitivity to hot or cold that keeps going after the trigger is gone, swelling or a pimple-like bump on the gum near the tooth, discomfort on biting, or a tooth that has darkened after a knock. Some teeth reach this stage with no symptoms at all and are found on an x-ray at a routine exam — one of the practical arguments for not skipping checkups.
The tooth is numbed thoroughly first, and we do not start until your child is comfortable. Decay is removed, the pulp in the crown is cleared, the chamber is treated and sealed, and the tooth is then restored — usually with a crown rather than a plain filling, because a tooth treated this way needs the extra protection to survive years of chewing. Most pulpotomies are completed in a single visit. For an anxious child, or one who cannot sit that long, we will discuss comfort and sedation options with you before the appointment is booked.
Expect mild soreness for a day or two, handled with whatever pain relief your dentist recommends for your child's age and weight, and keep an eye on your child while the numbness wears off so they do not chew a lip they cannot feel. Soft food for the rest of the day, then normal eating. The treated tooth is checked at each visit; occasionally a tooth does not settle and needs removal after all, and we will tell you plainly if that point arrives rather than persisting with something that is not working. Call us for swelling, fever, or pain that is worsening instead of easing.
Proper at-home oral hygiene, regular dental visits, and a healthy diet can eliminate the risk of cavities and tooth infections in kids of all ages.
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Removing the inflamed pulp addresses the source of a toothache rather than covering it, and most pulpotomies are completed in a single appointment.
Keeping the baby tooth preserves the space and path the permanent tooth needs — which no appliance does as well as the real tooth.
Treating an infected tooth early prevents the swelling, emergency visits and damage to nearby teeth that come with leaving it.
Your pediatric dentist determines how far the decay has reached and whether a pulpotomy will save the tooth or whether another option is better.
The tooth is fully numbed, decay and affected pulp are removed, and the chamber is treated and sealed — typically in one visit.
A crown usually goes on to protect the tooth for the years of chewing ahead, and we check it at every routine exam.
Not quite. A pulpotomy treats the pulp in the crown of the tooth and leaves the healthy tissue in the roots, which works because a baby tooth is meant to be shed later. An adult root canal treats the full length of the root. Parents often call it a “baby root canal” and that is a fair description.
Because the tooth is holding space. Baby teeth guide the permanent teeth into position, and losing a molar early can crowd the arch and leave the permanent tooth without a path — which then needs a space maintainer and sometimes orthodontic work. If the tooth can be saved comfortably, saving it is usually the better outcome.
Usually, yes. A tooth that has had a pulpotomy is more brittle and faces years of chewing, so a pediatric crown protects it far better than a plain filling. Your dentist will tell you which restoration is planned before treatment starts.
The goal is for it to last until it is naturally due to fall out, and most do. It is checked at every routine exam, and occasionally a tooth does not settle and needs to come out after all — if that happens we will say so directly rather than keep going with something that is not working.
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