Gentle pulp therapy saves infected baby teeth and relieves pain, keeping your child's smile and spacing intact. Waterdown Kids Dentistry.
When decay or injury reaches the pulp (the nerve and blood supply inside a tooth), the tooth becomes painful and infection follows. Pulp therapy removes the damaged tissue, disinfects the space, and seals the tooth so it can stay in place until it is naturally lost. Parents often ask why we would bother treating a tooth that is going to fall out. The answer is spacing: extracting a back baby tooth early frequently leads to crowding and orthodontic treatment later. Keeping the tooth is almost always the better outcome.
healthy root pulp stays. A medicated dressing is placed and the tooth is usually crowned.
are filled with a material that resorbs naturally as the tooth is shed.
the more common procedure. Only the pulp in the crown of the tooth is removed; the
used when infection has spread into the roots. The entire pulp is removed and the canals
The tooth is thoroughly frozen first, so your child should feel nothing beyond pressure. Laughing gas is available and frequently used. The procedure usually takes 30 to 45 minutes, and a crown is normally placed the same day to protect the tooth. Most children are surprised at how uneventful it is, particularly if they arrived in pain.
The tooth is fully frozen, so the procedure itself should not hurt. Most children find it comparable to having a filling.
Extraction is faster but creates a space problem. If the tooth can be saved, saving it usually spares your child orthodontic work later.
Generally until it is shed naturally, provided the crown stays intact and routine care continues.
We are welcoming founding families ahead of our September 2026 opening in Waterdown.