Milk tooth abscess

[Carlton]

Hello,

My son is 9 years old and has a rotten milk tooth at the back of his mouth. Its giving him tooth pain, and sometimes he gets a dental abscess from it.

Im guessing the tooth probably needs to come out but I don't know if milk teeth can have root canal treatment or not?

Can you please let me know when the next tooth will come through and will the infection effect the new tooth? Do you do milk tooth extractions or do you think he should have a root canal filling on that milk tooth if it can be done?

[Dr Ehsan J. Esfahani]

Hello Carlton,

Thank you for your post.

Milk teeth can have root canal treatment but this is not always the treatment of choice. The decision to save a milk tooth or to have a milk tooth extraction will depend on many factors. Firstly the age of the patient is important. If the tooth will be naturally lost shortly it is better removed. If there are multiple rotten milk teeth then multiple extractions is better. The level of cooperation of the child will also determine which treatment can be safely performed. If the tooth is very badly broken down then it is better removed than saved.

Adult teeth replacing the back milk teeth erupt between the age of 10-12. Dental infection of a rotten milk tooth can adversely affect the developing adult tooth. It can cause structural damage to the adult tooth. Dental abscess are treated first with antibiotics. Following control of the acute infection, we can perform an extraction at the clinic for a cooperative 9 year old. If cooperation is limited or we feel saving the tooth is the best option then we will refer you to a specialist childrens dentist.

Please book a check-up or emergency appointment to have the tooth assessed.