Why Do Children Need Root Canals?
Posted on: 20 October 2020
Why save something that will (and should) soon no longer be of any use? While your child's baby (deciduous) teeth will be replaced by permanent teeth, preservation of a damaged baby tooth can be essential for your child's dental health. Whether it's decay or an accident, any damage to a baby tooth will generally need to be repaired to keep the tooth in place for as long as possible, essentially until it's ready to come out of its own accord. This is why children sometimes need a root canal.
Problems with a Prematurely Lost Baby Tooth
Premature loss of a baby tooth can affect the subsequent growth of your child's permanent teeth. As an adult tooth develops below the gum line, it dissolves the root structure of its baby predecessor, which causes it to loosen and fall out. When the baby tooth is lost well ahead of schedule, it can create some problems for your child:
- Without the baby tooth to act as a placeholder, the adult tooth can emerge at an incorrect alignment.
- There's also the possibility of dental drift, which is when the remaining teeth on either side of the gap will begin to tilt into the gap, obstructing the growth of the adult tooth.
- Your child might experience speech difficulties with the missing tooth, leading to a speech impediment.
- Depending on the position of the tooth that was lost, your child can encounter problems with eating.
This is why your family dentist might opt to perform a root canal on a tooth that only serves a temporary purpose.
Root Canals for Children
The process of a root canal for children is almost identical to that of adults, with a few minor differences. Root canals are known as pulpectomies because they involve the removal of the dead or damaged dental pulp (the nerve) inside the tooth. The tooth is opened to allow access to the pulp chamber. The pulp is removed, and the chamber is thoroughly irrigated. An adult root canal is generally finished with a dental crown, and it's the same with children, although a tooth-colored porcelain crown is generally not used. A stainless steel crown is more common, as it has the required durability without the expense of a porcelain crown. And since the tooth will be lost anyway, the extra expense is best avoided.
When a Root Canal Isn't Recommended
Your dentist might suggest that your child won't benefit from a root canal, but this depends on the age of your child. When the baby tooth was lost at a later age, meaning that the emergence of the adult tooth was imminent anyway, extraction can be the preferred option, allowing the adult tooth to quickly emerge and take its permanent position.
So, while you might think of root canals as being for permanent teeth, baby teeth can benefit from them too.
To learn more, reach out to a local family dentist.
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