Understanding the Pain
It can be difficult for children to describe the pain beyond that it is present. Fortunately, we have experience in interpreting a child's description of pain and can examine the mouth to determine the cause. While a pediatric root canal may be a possible treatment for the pain, there are other options as well.
There are several reasons why your child's tooth is hurting, including :
- Food is stuck in between the teeth or in between the ridges on the chewing surfaces of the teeth
- Your child could have a cavity
- Your child’s tooth could have been chipped or cracked
- Your child may be suffering from enamel erosion
In these scenarios, we can treat the problem without needing to perform a pediatric root canal. For example, we can clean your child's teeth and remove any food particles causing discomfort. If your child has a cavity, we can remove the decay and place a filling at our office. A filling is quick and far less invasive than a pediatric root canal. Simultaneously, if your child's tooth is chipped or cracked, we can restore it using dental bonding or.
As a pediatric dentist, we restore teeth daily and have several ways of doing so. However, there are many times where a pediatric root canal is the right treatment option. Thus, to answer the question, "My child's tooth hurts, does he need a root canal?" we must also look at the surrounding circumstances.
How Long has the Tooth Been Hurting?
Upon visiting our dental office in Watertown, MA, we need to know how long your child has been dealing with this issue. We also need to know if the pain came on suddenly or if it has built up over time. This will help us in determining what the source of the discomfort is and what our treatment plan should be.
What is the Level of Pain?
At Pediatric Dental Arts, we regularly ask patients about their pain and whether or not it is manageable. If there is only slight discomfort, then your child can simply visit our Watertown dentist practice so we can remove the tooth decay. In many cases, a toothache is caused by a cavity that will not need a pediatric root canal. However, as a Watertown, MA dentist, we have found that intense pain is often due to an infection severe enough to warrant a root canal.