Vital Pulp Therapy Can Save Your Roots
What Is Vital Pulp Therapy?
The goal of vital pulp therapy (also called pulpotomy) is to save healthy dental pulp in the root of a tooth with decay in the crown. In this procedure, Dr. Hancock removes diseased pulp from the crown of the tooth and fills the crown with medicated material to preserve the healthy pulp tissue in the roots. Vital pulp therapy is only recommended when there is no swelling or abscess around the tooth and it is not loose. It may also be recommended for an injured baby tooth to save it from early extraction.
The Process and Purpose of Vital Pulp Therapy
The goal of vital pulp therapy is to treat or protect the pulpal complex of the tooth and maintain both comfort and vitality. This procedure includes indirect or direct pulp therapy or cap and pulpotomy. But why is it so important to perform a procedure like this on a baby tooth that will only fall out in a few years? Just because they’re temporary doesn’t mean baby teeth don’t matter. They help kids speak clearly, chew, and smile, and they are placeholders for permanent teeth, guiding them into place.
Pulpotomy is a common form of this procedure. It involves amputation of the pulp within the tooth’s crown and treatment of the remaining pulp stumps. The rationale behind this treatment is that pulp exposed to bacteria from a cavity has limited potential for recovery, but healthy pulp tissue is still capable of maintaining the vitality of the tooth once the infected pulp is gone.
The success of the procedure depends largely on properly diagnosing a tooth that is a good candidate for it. Symptoms of a tooth that is a good candidate include normal gum tissue around the tooth and that any tooth pain is only intermittent, temporary, or induced. In the past, this procedure was largely only performed on baby teeth, but the American Association of Endodontists now supports it as a treatment option for adult teeth that meet the criteria.
Why Not Place an Implant Instead?
It is always better (and less costly) to preserve as much of the natural tooth as possible. Even dental implants, the pinnacle of modern prosthodontics, cannot compare with a natural tooth in terms of function. Implants are also expensive and require a long recovery period, but pulpotomies and root canal treatment allow you to keep your tooth. A pulpotomy is preferable to a full root canal when the pulp in the root is healthy, because the procedure is less invasive.
How Your Raleigh Endodontist Can Help
If you or your child are experiencing tooth pain or have damaged a tooth in an accident, contact HH Hancock III Root Canal Endodontist right away. Dr. Hancock will examine the tooth and determine what type of treatment will be the best option. Vital pulp therapy could be the right choice to save your tooth while preserving its vitality. Call us at +1(919)781-9905 or send us an email, and make sure to check the map before you head our way.