Extractions and Pulpotomies
St. Helens, OR
 If your child's tooth gets significantly rotten, there are many ways to get it treated. Our experienced dental team at St. Helens Pediatric Dentistry can help. We will help identify and safely combat the dental issues by formulating the most suitable strategies catered toward your child's needs. The procedures can be important for younger patients like small children and teens.
Tooth Extractions
Our dentist can ask you to get an extraction in case a tooth problem becomes irresolvable through crowning, filling, or other such procedures. Firstly, they anesthetize the tooth through local anesthesia during the process. If you wish, you can also go for general anesthesia over the former. Once our dentists are assured the mouth is secure enough to withstand the pain, they gently pull the tooth out from the root using specialised tools.
There are various reasons behind extracting a tooth. Sometimes a wisdom tooth may get pulled out if it suddenly erupts sideways from the gums and into the teeth placed adjacently. Our dentist can also pull out the tooth aligned with braces for an Orthodontic Treatment. Any kind of major blow to the teeth can also call for an extraction procedure.
Pulpotomy
If the trauma or decay remains confined to the crown of a tooth, our dentist may recommend a pulpotomy. When a cavity gets too deep, close to the pulp of a tooth, or even inside the pulp, the pulpal tissue becomes inflamed. A pulpotomy is a dental procedure where the irritated or inflamed pulp chamber, usually on a baby molar, is removed. The living tooth root remains intact while the infected material of the pulp is extracted. After a pulpotomy on a baby molar, the empty space is usually filled with dental cement with a stainless steel crown being placed to restore the tooth.
This process is more than often done on younger, primary teeth since the pulp spaces are bigger which make the procedure more effective and easy. The permanent teeth, in children, erupt once the primary teeth start falling out and therefore become difficult to get treated with pulpotomy. The latter can still be an optional standing procedure for permanent teeth in few other situations. Our doctors will help you decide the best plan of action relative to your situation.
Recovery and Aftercare
Usually the process of pulpotomy and extraction are effective and safe, but a recovery period needs to be followed once the pulpotomy is performed. Once the effects of anesthesia decrease, chewing becomes painful because of tender gums and teeth. The conditions do not call for any risk, but they can cause alarming levels of discomfort. The gums are required to heal on their own for days. Till then make sure your kids do not chew on hard edibles and other kinds of oral activities that lead to wear and tear of teeth.
You are free to contact our staff at St. Helens Pediatric Dentistry or by calling the number (503) 396-4750 and scheduling your dental exam at an earliest. Our dentists will help you decide if a pulpotomy or extraction is needed in your child’s case. |
