What is a Pulpectomy?
A pulpectomy is necessary when the nerve (pulp) of the tooth is dead or abscessed. The entire infected pulp is removed from the roots of the tooth and medication is placed in the root canals. What is Nitrous Oxide/Oxygen? Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) is breathed by your child with oxygen during the restorative appointment. It is used to relax a mildly anxious child. What are Space Maintainers? They are used when a baby tooth has been prematurely lost to hold space for the permanent tooth. If space is not maintained, teeth on either side of the extraction site can drift into the space and prevent the permanent tooth from erupting. Why are “baby teeth” so important? Don t they “fall out”? Primary teeth have been labeled “baby teeth”. However, the first tooth usually isn t lost until 6 years of age and some primary molars must function until 12 or 13 years of age before they are replaced.
A pulpectomy is the formal term for a complete root canal, whether done on a primary tooth or a permanent tooth. In a pulpectomy procedure, the complete nerve of the tooth is removed using small instruments called reamers or files. The canals of the teeth (where the nerve was in the root or roots of the tooth) are cleaned and a material is placed into the canals to prevent fluid or other material from entering the canal. Teeth having a pulpectomy performed on them should be protected with a crown. Primary teeth can have complete root canals done on them but the material placed into their canals should be resorbable so that as the root of the tooth is resorbed by the permanent tooth, the material is also resorbed.
