Can a 7yr old have a root canal done? if so, is it suppose to hurt?!
Question: Can a 7yr old have a root canal done.? if so, is it suppose to hurt.?
the teeth are still his baby teeth.Health Question & Answer
Answers:
Baby teeth do not usually have a full RCT because of the difficulty and the poor failure rate. However, it may be appropriate to have a simpler nerve treatment called a pulpotomy, where only the nerve in the upper pulp chamber is removed, and the remaining tissue in the roots is mummified with formocresol mitis or iron chloride. This has a very good success rate.
It is usually best to save the back baby teeth in this manner because the next adult teeth underneath are not ready to come thru yet. If you remove back babyteeth at this stage, then the adult molar at the very back will move forward, and block the eventual eruption of the adult teeth under the baby molars. Now you will have a difficult orthodontic problem.
With simple local anaesthesia, this will not hurt at all. Most kids are quite co-operative, and I have done more than I can remember.
If, however, either the baby molar is too badly damaged to repair, or if you decide to have it extracted, then it would be best to have a "space maintainer" placed. This is a simple loop of wire from the adult molar at the back, over the gap, and touching the next baby tooth in front. This stops the adult molar from moving forward.Health Question & Answer
It is usually best to save the back baby teeth in this manner because the next adult teeth underneath are not ready to come thru yet. If you remove back babyteeth at this stage, then the adult molar at the very back will move forward, and block the eventual eruption of the adult teeth under the baby molars. Now you will have a difficult orthodontic problem.
With simple local anaesthesia, this will not hurt at all. Most kids are quite co-operative, and I have done more than I can remember.
If, however, either the baby molar is too badly damaged to repair, or if you decide to have it extracted, then it would be best to have a "space maintainer" placed. This is a simple loop of wire from the adult molar at the back, over the gap, and touching the next baby tooth in front. This stops the adult molar from moving forward.Health Question & Answer
I wouldn't bother having a RC done on a 7yr old. Not only is that tooth going to be replaced by a primary tooth in a few years, but the entire office visit and procedure is going to scare him so bad he won't want to ever go back to a dentist. Unless there is some really good reason they want to do this, i would suggest you say "no". You might want to get a 2nd or even a 3rd opinion on the root canal. Good luck to the both of you.Health Question & Answer
I have never come across a dentist that has done a root canal treatment on a baby tooth, it's just not done. Root canal is the last resort to save a tooth, why try and save a tooth if it's going to come out anyway. If the tooth is hurting then the dentist should extract it. I'd never go back to a dentist that recommends root canal treatments on baby teeth.Health Question & Answer
Usually it is a pulpotomy......or an apicoectomy.....the numbing will help, the pain is mostly from the parents anxiety, that the child can see.
But the bigger question is why......You need to get his oral hygiene and diet in check now, and enforce good habits so you won't have these problems in the adult teeth.
No soda
No sport drinks
Low acid juices: no citrus, Cranberry, apple, cherry, grape etc.
Watch snacks
Chew sugarless gum with xylitol
Excellent brushing habits, especially before bed.Health Question & Answer
But the bigger question is why......You need to get his oral hygiene and diet in check now, and enforce good habits so you won't have these problems in the adult teeth.
No soda
No sport drinks
Low acid juices: no citrus, Cranberry, apple, cherry, grape etc.
Watch snacks
Chew sugarless gum with xylitol
Excellent brushing habits, especially before bed.Health Question & Answer
Only a trained dentist should be making this choice. If it were me however, I would NOT have an RC done on a child; the tooth will fall out eventually (so having it extracted would be the better option).
And YES, RC's hurt, regardless of age.Health Question & Answer
And YES, RC's hurt, regardless of age.Health Question & Answer