Child dentistry

What we give to our children in their early years is carried forward for the rest of their lives. We at Aruma dental implant clinic make sure that every child that we treat should take with them the pleasant memories of a dental office.

This way they would be proactive in taking care of their dental health and would be more receptive towards dental treatment in the future. We have been providing the best pediatric treatment in thane for more than a decade now.

What is Pediatric dentistry?

This is a branch of dentistry that deals with monitoring and treating the oral and dental problems of children right from infancy to early teens. Children get their deciduous teeth from 6months-2years and start losing them around 6-7 years of age.

The primary teeth are highly prone to dental caries. You would be surprised to know that dental caries, an infectious disease is more rapid and prevalent in children than asthma or hay fever.

The most common problem with which a child reports to the dental office is pain in the tooth. Whenever that happens, the pulp of the tooth is usually infected. Every tooth has three layers. The outermost being the strong enamel, the middle layer is dentin and the innermost vascular layer is pulp.

What could be the symptoms of pulpal infection?

Pain: A sharp shooting or dull aching pain
Pain is either spontaneous or with stimulation
Extreme sensitivity to hot or cold
Gum swelling
A draining sinus

Whenever a patient reports any of the above-mentioned symptoms, the pulp is highly infected. There are only two options, either extraction or a pulp treatment.

It’s always better to save the natural tooth as it acts as the best space maintainer. If a deciduous tooth is extracted early, then there are chances that space would be taken by the adjoining erupting teeth, leaving very little space for the underlying permanent tooth to erupt. In such cases, there is severe crowding in permanent dentition.

The deciduous teeth serve the same function as the permanent teeth, so the missing teeth at any age can lead to trouble with eating and speech.

The various treatment options that we have with an infected tooth are:

Indirect pulp treatment

At times when the pulp damage is less, we remove the decayed tooth portion and apply a medicament and fill the tooth. This is an indirect treatment of the pulp.

Pulpotomy

This is also a conservative treatment wherein the infected pulp in the crown portion is removed and the radicular pulp is allowed to heal. The extent of infection can be accessed through x-ray and other necessary investigations. The coronal pulp is removed and an intracanal medicament is placed that promotes healing of the radicular pulp. At Aruma dental implant clinic, we carry pulpotomy with the help of carbon dioxide lasers. The procedure is painless for the patients

The materials used for pulpotomy are calcium hydroxide, mineral trioxide aggregate, zinc oxide eugenol etc. We only use high-quality materials of international standards.

Pulpectomy or Root canal

This is a procedure that involves complete removal of the coronal and the radicular pulp. The roots of the primary teeth are different from the permanent teeth. The deciduous teeth have shorter roots that get absorbed sometime before the natural fall. The root canal procedure in children differs slightly from that of adults. We clean the tooth thoroughly and put a resorbable intracanal medicament. The procedure is done with or without anesthesia depending upon the condition of the tooth.

How should you prepare a child for a root canal procedure?

Children have an objective fear. They are generally scared of injections, sharp instruments. So the parents need to play a role by motivating the child, by explaining how the treatment would cure their pain and help them eat effectively again.

Dr Uma Kachapilly is proficient in this job. She makes the treatment painless. She has treated a lot of pediatric patients and always sends them back home smiling.

Instructions to the patients after the root canal

The child may complain of a tingling sensation or an itch as the anesthesia wears off. Some children tend to bite their lip and cause injury, so the parents would have to monitor the children till the anesthesia completely wears off.
Avoid chewing sticky food, hard substances; the children should avoid putting pencils or any other hard objects in the mouth.
The child may experience some discomfort after the root canal therapy which is perfectly normal.

What after root canal treatment?

After completion of the root canal, the tooth is secured with a permanent filling. The tooth is then covered with a crown. The most commonly used crowns are Stainless steel crowns. We use zirconium crowns as well. Stainless steel crowns are also used for extensively decayed teeth. This procedure can be completed in one sitting only. The crown can protect the tooth from hard biting force and the tooth doesn’t fracture.

What other treatments do we provide?

Regular oral health examinations for infants and children
Cavity fillings
Space maintainers: Whenever there is an early loss of deciduous tooth, we have to preserve the space for the permanent tooth. These are the appliances given to maintain the space.
Habit-breaking appliances: Many kids have thumb or finger sucking habit. We give habit breaking appliance for the kids and counsel them as well.
Dental injuries and their management: Children are highly prone to injuries. We provide emergency care for all our patients.
Fluoride applications: Regular fluoride applications in children have been shown to reduce the incidence of caries. It’s a preventive treatment with a high success rate in children.
Orthodontic treatment: Some children need early orthodontic intervention. The bone growth can be moderated and long-term benefits can be seen.

We have been effectively giving the best treatment to all our patients. We have a record of creating beautiful smiles amongst all our pediatric patients. Our clinic is child friendly and our staff takes utmost care to make the patients feel comfortable and happy at the clinic.

We promise to deliver the best because that’s what you deserve