Dental fillings are used to treat different dental problems like cavities and broken teeth. Teeth are usually filled with a material called composite resin. Composite restorations can be matched very closely to your child’s natural tooth color and are virtually indistinguishable from non-restored teeth.
Before your child gets a filling, your child will receive a local anesthetic to numb the gums around the tooth. We will then clean away the bad and decayed part of the tooth so that it is ready to be filled. Once the tooth is filled, we smooth the rough edges and polish it to make it look natural. We use high quality composites that are extremely durable and stain resistant.
This procedure prevents further damage to the tooth and is an effective and inexpensive way of dealing with damaged teeth both for your child’s primary (baby) and permanent teeth.
Tooth Colored Crowns
Here at Lawrenceville Pediatric Dentistry, we are proud to offer tooth colored crowns, which are a healthy esthetic alternative to silver crowns for the back teeth, and a stronger alternative to plastic resin crowns for the front teeth. They cannot be used in every case they are very technique sensitive and comes in limited sizes. Our team will work with you on making the best recommendation for your child.
Nerve treatments:
PULPOTOMY
When a cavity gets really deep, very close to the pulp of a tooth, or even into the pulp, the pulpal tissue becomes infected. A pulpotomy is when the infected nerve in pulp chamber, usually on a baby molar, is removed. The dentist will remove the infected nerve in the crown only, leaving the living tooth root intact. After a pulpotomy on a baby molar, the empty space will be filled with dental cement and a stainless-steel crown is recommended to restore the tooth.
PULPECTOMY
If the infection involves nerve tissue in both the crown and the root of a baby tooth, a pulpectomy may be the best option. In a pulpectomy, the entire nerve tissue is removed from both the crown and the roots. After removing nerve tissue from the crown and from the canals of the roots, pulp chamber and root canals will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Next, the dentist will fill the tooth and the roots with a biocompatible therapeutic material and restore it with a stainless-steel crown.
Stainless steel crowns:
When a child’s tooth is cracked, broken, extensively decayed, or underwent a baby root canal, it is recommended to restore affected tooth with a crown. A dental crown is a restoration that covers a tooth, restoring it to its normal size and shape while strengthening it and protecting it from further cracking or breakage. Tooth crowns are necessary when a tooth is broken down to the point where a filling won’t last long term. Based on a patient’s unique needs, the appropriate type of dental crown will be determined.
Dental crown placement is performed in-office. Before the crown procedure, a child will receive local anesthesia in order to numb the affected tooth and area around the tooth. We offer single tooth anesthesia technology, which provides several advantages for our pediatric patients. Additionally, sedation dentistry options may also be administered, depending on a patient’s needs.
Space Maintainers:
A baby tooth stays in a child’s mouth until it is replaced by an adult tooth. Sometimes a child may lose a tooth sooner due to trauma or dental disease. If a tooth is lost too early, a space maintainer may be recommended to prevent space loss and thereby minimize future space problems. It is usually worn by the child until the adult tooth begin to appear in the mouth. Space maintainers hold the space left by the lost tooth. It prevents the surrounding teeth from moving into the empty space where the baby tooth was present. Your child still may need orthodontic treatment in the future due to natural crowding or malalignment.
If you have any questions about fillings/crowns or think your child may need one, please contact us today at (678) 629-3663.