Pulp Therapy – Independence, MO

Pulp therapy is a treatment that may be needed when there is an infection in the innermost layer of a tooth, known as its pulp. The pulp is a soft substance that contains nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissues.

Your child might need pulp therapy if they exhibit the following symptoms:

• They have a severe toothache.
• One of their teeth is unusually sensitive to hot and cold temperatures.
• There is swelling and redness around the affected tooth.
• There is unexplained mobility in the affected tooth.
• There are other visible signs of damage on or around the painful tooth.

To start a pulp therapy appointment, we numb your child’s mouth. We may also administer sedation to help them stay relaxed and comfortable. Then, Dr. Dean carefully accesses the tooth’s interior and uses special instruments to clean out the affected tooth. Then, the empty space in the tooth is filled in with an inert, biocompatible material. Very often, a crown is necessary after pulp therapy.

It is important to note that pulp therapy is not the same thing as root canal therapy. Although the two procedures have some points in common, pulp therapy is more conservative. Its goal is to preserve the vitality of the treated tooth so it can continue to develop normally. Often, infected tissue is removed only from the crown of a tooth rather than its root. Root canal therapy, on the other hand, does involve cleaning out the tooth roots.

Pulp therapy may offer several benefits to your child:

• It may prevent the need for an extraction. This can allow your child to enjoy a confident smile. Preventing the premature loss of baby teeth also encourages proper development of incoming adult teeth.
• It can end your child’s toothache. After recovering from pulp therapy, your child should enjoy pain-free dental function.
• The treatment is more comfortable than most people realize. Thanks to bad media reports about root canal therapy, many parents are reluctant to allow their child to undergo pulp therapy. The truth is, though, that pulp therapy is much more comfortable than is generally believed!