Can Injured Teeth in Young Children Be Saved with Root Canal Treatment?

We use our teeth to help us form our words, chew our food and even to smile. We brush, floss and clean them because our teeth are an important and necessary tool in our day-to-day lives.

And so, when dental trauma such as a knocked or chipped tooth happens to a young child, there is – of course – cause for concern. Sometimes, injured teeth will need root canal treatment because the nerve of the tooth dies as a result of the injury. Previously, there was sometimes no choice but to remove the tooth and either replace it with a fake one or leave that space empty altogether.

Today, advanced techniques in root canal treatment including dental tissue engineering can help save some of the injured teeth that otherwise would not be savable.

How are injured young teeth treated using root canal treatment and tissue engineering?

Teeth are hollow, like straws. Nerves and blood vessels (dental pulp) enter a tooth through the end of the root, which is buried under the gums and supported in bone.

When a tooth first erupts into the mouth its roots are short and weak. A healthy pulp enables the tooth’s root to grow and become strong. When a tooth is knocked out or loose, the pulp tissue may die and the tooth may eventually be lost. In adults, a routine root canal treatment would suffice for such teeth. However, in young children, the tooth’s root is not complete yet, which complicates the root canal treatment. Through a technique called “root-end closure,” dentists can accomplish the root canal treatment and save the child’s tooth. Another advanced technique called regenerative endodontics allows the dentists to use principles of tissue engineering to form a new, healthy pulp that enables the root to continue its growth and save the tooth.

Such techniques can help save some of the teeth that normally would be considered a lost cause. While these techniques are not for all injured teeth, they can definitely help save some of the injured teeth that otherwise would not be savable. The feasibility of these options also depend on the integrity of remaining tooth structure and the ability of the child to tolerate complex treatments in the dental chair.

Should something traumatize your child’s tooth or teeth, it’s important that you get it checked out immediately, so that the true nature of damage and impact may be evaluated. It’s also important that your children learn to protect and value the health of their teeth. But in those instances where the tooth or teeth are threatened – for whatever reason – dental tissue engineering can help to save your child’s smile.