4 year old root canal!!

[pipppopin]

My four year old ds went to the dentist this morning. I had noticed a small cavity in an upper baby tooth molar which turns out to be very deep. The dentist has told us that he needs a root canal. At the age of four! We discussed treatment options & I believe that sedation under general anaesthetic is best option for him. Thought we were doing ok with tooth brushing so feeling crappy with guilt about this &anxious as hell about putting him under. Any Mums had experience of baby root canals?? I didn't even know this was a thing!

Why would they do that on a baby tooth? Can't they just pull it?

It just seems like unnecessary treatment to me.

I didn't think most first teeth had any roots to fill.

Blimey.

I didn't realise they did this so young.
I've had a few and if I could I would have GA

Can you get a second opinion? I wouldn't put a child under a GA to fix a baby tooth if there was a better option, and I'd quite likely choose pulling it as a better option.

I'd be wanting a second opinion from a dentist specialising in paediatric dental health. I'd never heard of it till now, though is appears to be something that is considered these days. What exactly are the benefits to doing root canal as appeared to pulling the tooth? Has this been explained to you?

I think that sounds crazy, surely they should pull it out not do a root canal!! Get a second opinion, I don't trust that at all

DD was offered this when she was 5. I have a close friend who is a maxillofacial surgeon who said in his opinion it would be a waste of time and potentially traumatizing. He recommended just extracting it under a very quick GA, which is indeed what we opted for. She was out trick or treating that evening (it was Halloween!) I'd get a second opinion if you can.

I asked my aunt, who is a professor of dental health specialising in decay. She said not every tooth or every four year old would be a suitable candidate and that it would be a root canal "of sorts" but that baby teeth should be as valued as adult teeth.

I will be getting a second opinion as soon as poss. My no1 concern is balancing the risk of a general anaesthetic for a relatively minor issue against traumatising my ds in the dentists chair by getting treatment/extraction without sedation (he's dramatic at best of times) I suffered years of shoddy agonising dentistry from childhood to teens. Really want to avoid any of that for our boy ( if only my teeth looked like the emojie's)

Yes baby teeth have roots !

When they fall out naturally and appear rootless it is because the succeeding adult tooth has resorbed the baby tooth root as it emerges .

The reason for conserving them is they maintain the space for the first adult molars which come through at around age 6. If the baby molars are lost early the adult first molars drift forwards and create space issues for the adult teeth - which might necessitate extraction of adult teeth later down the line.

And if your child needs a GA for the proposed treatment he would need it for an extraction as well. Your dentist sounds very conscientious .

It's not the same as an adult root canal , it's much easier to do .
It will be either a pulpotomy or a pulpectomy ( ask dr Google)

I'm in the same boat op. My ds (just turned 5) has a very rotten bottom molar. The guilt is enormous- but it seems an awful lot of kids don't form strong or any enamel. He often had raisins in his porridge every morning and that alone could have been the cause. We have a healthy diet in our house. We went private to a paediatric dentist who suggested root canal or extraction. Both would be done under GA. it's terrifying.

We have opted just to get it removed. She said root canal is only 65% chance of total success. Problem with extraction though is the spacing of the adult teeth coming up - but could be sorted with braces, which you could need anyway...

We have to do it under GA as ds is not at all compliant even for a check up!

OMRI DS had a too the removed as a baby (is was imbedded in a 'lump' he was born with) We had regular checkups with the paediatric team at the dental hospital to keep an eye on how his teeth came in. It was thought at one point he might need a brace but this wasn't the case.

Thanks heavenly! That's reassuring.
How old is he now?

He's almost 20 (where does the time go!) and has lovely teeth If my memory is right the tooth above the bottom molar was 'stubborn' and was the last to come out. At one point they thought they may have to surgically remove it even though it wasn't loose. I can't recall if this was a related factor or just him. I think he did loose his teeth in a strange order too.

Thanks
Dentist said it had no bearing on his adult teeth which would more than likely come up healthier than his weak baby teeth.

Update: we took my daughter to a wonderful paediatric dentist who did a pulpectomy using nitrous oxide as sedation. Peppa Pig was playing on a screen above her head, the little gas mask smelled of strawberry, daughter was relaxed throughout. No distress at all & came away having had an hour of fun & attention from the dentist & nurse. Not cheap but worth every penny. With the exception of the back molar, her teeth are in good condition so feeling less crappy about things. Dentist gave a great tip for brushing with young kids - lie them down & brush. You can see what your doing & easier to control the wriggles

Excellent news
Feel better soon YoungPip

Brilliant news! Give us his details if you can for future reference X