Baby root canal or extraction?

[Ahappymel]

Hi all,
More bad news for my little boy's mouth : (
First a vent...I've been regular about the dental visits...he had one 6 months ago and another one last month. I took him in yesterday after he complained about pain and they say he needs a baby root canal.
I was quite upset...upset at myself, upset that it wasn't noted a month (or 6 months) ago.
They want to do it with a GA that my insurance doesn't cover but are willing to try with a sedative and nitrous. I am not sure that he will cooperate for that (he's 4 1/2).
I guess we could have it extracted but he won't have an adult tooth until he's 12...maybe a spacer?
What would you do? Baby root canal or extraction?

Thanks!

Mel.

[lovebug]

im so sorry mama : you NOT A BAD MAMA

i would go with a extraction. root canal on babay teeth can be bad. one of the things they put in the tooth is knowen to cause cancer.

[Chele]

don't be hard on yourself. My ds goes in in two weeks to have lots of stuff done to his teeth, extractions, caps, fillings etc... He is only 2 1/2 so we have to do it at the hospital. These things just happen to those of us with weak enamel, despite our best efforts. I would be inclined to extract too, but I am wondering what tooth it is. Did the dentist tell you that the adult tooth wouldn't come in until age 12? That seems late, most kids start losing baby teeth at age 6, I know molars can hang around a bit longer, but I didn't think until they were 12. If you aren't sure about the root canal don't do it. There is no harm in pulling a baby tooth out a bit early.

[Ahappymel]

It's a molar and yes, they told me he wouldn't have a new one until he was 12. I've heard about spacers....if anyone knows the pros/cons of an extraction and spacer versus root canal, please chime in!

Oh! and when they do a baby root canal, do they need to put a crown on top?

[mommamin]

Originally Posted by lovebug

im so sorry mama : you NOT A BAD MAMA

i would go with a extraction. root canal on babay teeth can be bad. one of the things they put in the tooth is knowen to cause cancer.

Do you have a link with this information please?!

[JaneS]

Root canals harbor bacteria forever in the tubules, I wouldn't do them on a child in a zillion years since I've read about it.

http://www.price-pottenger.org/Articles/Rootcanal.htm

[ber]

I agree w/the extraction suggestions

[Kathryn]

A baby root canal is not the same as an adult one, thus the name. It doesn't have the same stuff in them. My dd has to have 4-8 of them this june. She'll be 2. They crown them afterwards. I would do anything possible to keep his natural teeth. They are the best spacers for his mouth.

[JBaxter]

as a former dental hygienist ( and mom w/ kids who had to have dental work before 5) I would go with the rootcanal/crown the spacers come out ALOT. things like gum chewy candy will dislodge them. I KNOW kids arent supposed to get that kind of stuff but by 7 or 8 you cant watch them 24/7. IF at all possible keep the natural tooth.

[mommamin]

Originally Posted by JaneS

Root canals harbor bacteria forever in the tubules, I wouldn't do them on a child in a zillion years since I've read about it.

http://www.price-pottenger.org/Articles/Rootcanal.htm

Thank you!

[Ahappymel]

Okay, just spoke with the dentist who says they did not see decay in his xrays 7 months prior and they only took 2 last month. He says they are very conservative in x-rays use in children due to radiation.
He admits that he did not inspect close enough last month.
He says that the baby root canal is basically a drilling, part of the nerve being removed and then the tooth being filled. He says that no crown will be used.
Does this sound right?

[ChristaN]

My older dd has been blessed with no tooth decay, but she did have an injured molar due to an accident and the nerve died causing the tooth to abcess. We opted to have it extracted and a spacer put it. It was cemented to the molar next to the one that was pulled. I believe that she was about 5 at the time. We were told the same -- the new tooth would not come in until about age 12. She is 7 and it started growing in a few months ago. The dentist was shocked, but it was nice b/c we were able to have the spacer removed.

We didn't have any problems with the spacer either, for the record. It never fell out or caused any problems. Now, if she had a lot of other dental devices in her mouth, I probably would have thought about the root canal more just for asthetics, but one silver spacer one the side didn't create any issues with her looking like the kid with a ton of metal in her mouth. It just seemed less traumatic, but her mouth was kind of sore after the extraction for a few hours.

[Kathryn]

That sounds about right. From what I know, if it's not too bad, they don't crown them. My daughters teeth are practically nubs so she doesn't have a choice.

[TudoBem]

Originally Posted by Kathryn

A baby root canal is not the same as an adult one, thus the name. It doesn't have the same stuff in them. My dd has to have 4-8 of them this june. She'll be 2. They crown them afterwards. I would do anything possible to keep his natural teeth. They are the best spacers for his mouth.

This is true. A baby root canal is different. It's typically referred to as a pulpotomy. http://32teethonline.com/pedopage6.htm