PAEDIATRIC ENDODONTICS

Paediatric endodontics involves root canal therapy or pulp devitalisation of baby teeth. It is performed whenever tooth decay affects the pulp of the tooth or when trauma causes necrosis (the death of dental nerve cells). In these cases, the tooth generally appears darker, often tending towards grey.

When possible, meaning when decay has not completely contaminated the dental pulp, devitalisation of the deciduous tooth is partially performed through pulpotomy, a quicker technique that, if correctly applied, can yield the same results as complete root canal therapy.

It is truly mistaken to think that, "if the tooth needs to be devitalised, it's better to extract it"... a common thought among many. Similarly, it is unacceptable for a decayed baby tooth with or without abscesses and fistulous tracts to be left in the child's mouth without any care other than maintaining the open pulp chamber. This advice, sometimes unfortunately suggested to mothers by some colleagues, creates a condition of permanent infection of the bone surrounding the tooth, which in certain conditions can evolve into widespread systemic infections.

A decayed baby tooth must be treated, and it should never be left open due to potential complications that may arise. The baby tooth serves many functions, from psychosocial to maintaining the correct space for permanent teeth, and its retention in the mouth, even if devitalised, ensures dental health and avoids the unpleasant experience of extraction.

The exfoliation of baby teeth should be a natural process, in which no one should intervene outside the biological rhythms of nature.