Pulpotomy
General Information
A deep cavity in your child’s baby tooth may go into the nerve (pulp) of the tooth. In such cases, a pulpotomy is recommended to save the tooth.
A pulpotomy of a baby tooth is similar to, but not as complex as root canal treatment of an adult tooth. Both procedures prevent unnecessary loss of teeth. Your child’s baby teeth are important in guiding the permanent teeth into position and should therefore remain in your child’s mouth until they are lost naturally.
A pulpotomy removes part of the nerve (pulp) of a tooth to prevent or treat the formation of an abscess. A medicated filling material is placed in the nerve space and a cap or a filling is then used to restore your child’s tooth.
We insist on proper brushing, flossing and avoidance of sweet snacks. Your child should then never again have cavities large enough to require another pulpotomy. To insure this, please be sure you schedule regular checkups every six months.
General Measures
- If local anesthetic was given to your child for the pulpotomy, watch him or her for several hours to make sure he/she is not chewing his/her cheek, tongue or lips, which are numb.
- Brush and floss as usual. A clean mouth heals faster.
- Avoid hard sticky foods that would tend to remove the temporary filling material.