Hi Torrie!

My 9yo dd has had a toothache for a week and we can't wait for school vacation to see Dr. M (as we will for the remaining cavities) I like her dentist and he is willing to work with me, and listen to me. She has a 4 or 5 year old filling that fell out leaving a giant hole in her tooth on her lower left hand side (tooth K) Her dentist here said that he wasn't comfortable pulling it because it would cause her back teeth to come forward and crowd out the new ones that will want to come in. Is this really true? I was pushing for extraction, but he wont do it. He wants to do a "partial" where he pulls out the coronal nerve and blood supply and fills it with a white filling. He then wants to put a stainless steel crown on it, but is willing to just try to seal it up really well and forego the crown (because I told him she was allergic to metal and suffered from heavy metal toxicity.) Does all of this sound acceptable? I hope so. She has been suffering with this toothache all weekend, and I have to do something immediately. We have had fun, though, making "magic" paste with slippery elm and clove oil. Works like a charm!~
Thanks for all of your help!
Sem

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well, it sounds like he is doing an coronal pulpotomy. because these are not done on permanent teeth, they are ok for kids. yes, he is correct that the permanent tooth could have problems coming in correctly if the tooth is pulled prematurely. we would not do such a technique because it is simply not biological. we would put a partial there to keep the space and hope for the best. but, while root canals on permanent teeth are the worst thing you can do, the baby teeth does not pose as much of a concern. but, the stainless steel crown contains nickel and that is a cancer causing agent. i do not suggest the tooth be left without a crown, though because kids can be tough on teeth and it could crack and lead to more problems. what i recommend is a lab made crown that can last up to a year. we have those and they are $50. i don't know what they would charge in the states. maybe you want to have it prepped for the crown, have them stick on a temporary, then come here to get the lab made temporary, don't know. but, in the meanwhile, my advice is to get a temporary crown, even if they tell you it won't last more than a month or so. are their toxins in them? of course, but the alternatives are not good. you could of course get a porcelain crown and that is going to be expensive, with or without gold. and, if you go to a non-biologic dentist, there will more than likely still be the kind of toxins you want to avoid. overall, we are talking pretty short term here, so go ahead and get the procedure if you want and avoid the stainless crown, but do get a crown of some sort.

here is a website that explains things:

http://dentalresource.org/topic57pulptherapy.html

Torrie

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Thank you, Torrie.

I will go ahead and get some kind of crown. I'm glad to know that you agree extraction is a bad idea. I'll stop pushing for that.
Have a great week!
Sem

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well, it is not that i think it is a bad idea, and frankly, i would have to check with the dentist for sure. you see, we would not do a coronal pulpotomy procedure and i am pretty certain that the child's tooth would still grow in correctly. but, i also know that the procedure isn't a huge deal because it is not being done to a permanent tooth. one thing you need to consider though, is that you said they will be filling it with composite. many composites used can cause reactions. it could make your child sick. you can read about them here: http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=887607

Torrie