Restoring Healthy Smiles
As a parent, you want your child to have the most high-quality dental treatment they can possibly receive to have a beautiful and healthy smile that lasts a lifetime.
At Rio Dental & Orthodontics, our team of highly experienced and knowledgeable dentists understands that. That’s why we do everything in our power to preserve your child’s natural teeth and keep their mouth as healthy as possible.
We understand that root canals may sound intimidating. However, at Rio Dental & Orthodontics, our team is able to ease your child’s pain and nervousness, ensure they can keep their infected tooth, and give them the knowledge they need to prevent a tooth infection from developing again.
Why Choose Rio Dental & Orthodontics For Root Canal Therapy?
When it comes to choosing what dental office to go to for you or your child to receive a root canal, your choice matters. Picking a pediatric dentistry office that not only has ample dental experience, but also shows compassion and understanding towards your child is vital. Your little one is much more likely to feel comfortable and secure in a dental office that is specially trained to work with pediatrics.
At Rio Dental & Orthodontics, we offer:
- Sedation dentistry
- Flexible payment options
- Focus on pain-free, gentle, and communicative treatment appointments
Signs of Needing a Root Canal
Root canal treatments are more common for adults than children, however, sometimes babies and young children may need this procedure in order to save their natural tooth and prevent future oral health problems from occurring.
Some signs you may notice that signal your child might need a root canal include:
- Complaints about tooth pain.
- Sensitivity to hot and cold foods and drinks.
- Swollen or inflamed gums.
- Pockets of pus forming on the gums.
- A fever.
- Swollen lymph nodes.
As soon as you notice any of these symptoms, it’s best to visit our office so our experienced pediatric dentist can determine the root of the issue. We will take X-rays to see if there’s an underlying infection and be on the lookout for darkened teeth, soft tissue abnormalities, or indications of drainage caused by an infection.
What to Expect During a Root Canal Procedure
Once we determine what the cause of your child’s discomfort is, we’ll develop a custom treatment plan to help ease their pain and fix the underlying issue. Similar to a root canal for adults, children’s root canal therapy involves gently removing the inner infected pulp of the tooth. The dentist will use small, special gadgets to clean, sanitize, and repair the structure of the tooth, allowing it to remain healthy until the permanent teeth come through.
At Rio Dental & Orthodontics, our pediatric dentist is specially trained to deliver painless and gentle treatment for children. Our goal is to preserve your child’s baby teeth and avoid tooth extractions, because when they lose their primary teeth too soon, their adult ones may grow in abnormally, which increases the chances of needing extensive orthodontic treatment later on.
Benefits of Children’s Root Canals
You may be wondering why your child needs a root canal on a baby tooth if it’s going to fall out anyways. However, there are many benefits to this procedure on baby teeth. Some of the benefits include:
- Improves their oral health and prevents additional issues from developing.
- Maintains the alignment of their adult teeth by preserving their primary teeth.
- Eases their pain.
- Prevents the infection from spreading.
- Preserve the function of their mouth during their crucial developmental stages.
Preparing Your Child For Getting a Root Canal
You want to make sure your child feels as positively as possible about getting a root canal – and so do we. At Rio Dental & Orthodontics, we want you to know that you can trust our highly trained specialists to give your child the highest quality of care possible. Our team is specially trained to work with children and we will always do our absolute best to make sure they feel safe, comfortable, and calm. We offer sedation dentistry and general anesthesia and do everything we can to allow your little one to feel as relaxed as possible before and during their appointment.
Here are some tips to ensure your little one knows what to expect the day of their procedure:
- Try not to pass any anxiety on to them. If you’re calm and collected, they will most likely mimic that energy.
- Calmly explain to them what will happen during their appointment; we will do the same!
- Remind them that they won’t be able to feel anything during their root canal and they won’t be in any pain.
- Let them know that the procedure will be over before they know it.
- Let them bring their favorite toy, stuffed animal, book, or music to distract them.
Contact Us For a Pediatric Root Canal Today
While root canals may seem daunting, they are much more comfortable and painless than they used to be. We understand that your child may not fully understand why they need the procedure or what it will feel like, but you can rest assured our team will do everything they can to make it as quick and comfortable for them.
To schedule an appointment at our Fort Worth dental office or at any other of our three locations, we invite you to give us a call today or fill out a form online.
