Office Location: 540 East Main Street, Lexington, KY 40508
New patients: 855-610-7695 | Existing patients: 859-252-0314
Our Reviews

Archives for January 2020

Is a Pulpotomy Really Necessary?

Posted on by .

My daughter has an infection on a baby molar. My dentist wants to do a pulpotomy on it. What I don’t understand is why we just don’t pull the molar. It’s not her permanent one. When I asked her dentist, he just said, “Because as her dentist I’m telling you this is the best option.” What I wanted to say was, “Well, as her parent I want to know why.” but I was too chicken. I’ve scheduled the appointment but I really want to know why before I follow through with this.

Jen

Dear Jen,

Little girl smiling in a pediatric dental chair

The answer to this really depends on the age of your daughter. Her baby molars need to stay in place until she is around twelve years old when her permanent molars come in. When they’re significantly younger than this, one option is to do a pulpotomy. This is essentially a child’s version of a root canal treatment. It will help her retain a necessary tooth.

Another option is to extract the infected molar, however, you will need to place a space maintainer where the tooth once was. This is a more invasive treatment, but sometimes becomes necessary when the tooth cannot be saved.

If you don’t do either of those, the infection will spread. Tooth infections are considered dental emergencies and need to be taken seriously. The jaw is close to the heart, brain, and lungs. You don’t want the infection to reach any of those areas.

If you extract the tooth without a space maintainer then her other teeth will shift into the open space. When her permanent molars start to come in, it will lead to crowding of her teeth. Then, you’re talking about needing orthodontics which could have been prevented. Keeping this space secured is much less expensive.

A Word about Your Pediatric Dentist’s Response

I’m not happy with your his response to your question. You are the parent and he is ethically obligated to give you all the options available in treatment. In doing that, it means also explaining the pros and cons to each option, along with his explanation for his recommendation.

His arrogance in being questioned makes me wonder whether he’s giving you any of your other options. This isn’t the best care for your child. While you need to get your daughter’s infection dealt with. I think you should start looking for a new dentist for her. If you live in a small town which doesn’t have many pediatric dentists, you can also see a general dentist who is good with children.

This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dentist Dr. John Weaver.

Infected Wisdom Tooth

Posted on by .

I have a wisdom tooth which began to hurt. I scheduled a dental appointment and they told me it was infected and needed to be extracted. The dentist suggested I just get all the wisdom teeth extracted while I’m there. That’s going to be very expensive, but I agreed. He gave me antibiotics and told me to schedule the extraction. I didn’t actually schedule the extraction. The antibiotics kicked in and the tooth no longer hurt so I decided I didn’t need to. Now it’s hurting again. Is the infection back? Should I get more antibiotics?

Livvie

Dear Livvie,

Woman grabbing her jaw in pain, in need of an emergency dentist

The tooth infection never actually went away. The only thing an antibiotic does is hold it at bay. The medicine kept it in check and then when the medicine was done, it flared back up. Dental infections are different than other types. In order for the infection to completely go away, it has to be physically removed by the dentist either with a root canal treatment or by extracting the tooth. In your case, what happened is the antibiotic helped with the infection which made you feel better, but didn’t really eradicate the infection.

These need to be taken seriously because the infection will spread. Even in the 21st century, people still die from tooth infections. Think about how close your brain is to your jaw. If it spreads quickly, your life could be at risk.

Do You Need to Have All Your Wisdom Teeth Extracted?

You’re extracting this tooth because it is infected. You didn’t mention anything about the teeth being impacted. Unless they are (or also are infected) I see no reason to extract the other three. That is a waste of money and an unnecessary risk. I recommend calling the office and asking why he wants the other three wisdom teeth removed. While you’re on the phone with them, schedule your extraction.

Many patients avoid procedures like this because of dental anxiety. Let’s face it, even if you’re not someone who avoids the dentist, I doubt you’d be jumping up and down about the idea of a tooth being pulled. Fortunately, there is a way to do this in an anxiety-free (and pain-free) way.

Make sure the dentist who is doing the extraction has sedation dentistry available. This will allow you to sleep through the procedure if you want to.

This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dr. John Weaver.