Children’s teeth have different morphology from adult teeth: the baby tooth nerve (pulp) is closer to the outer surface of the tooth and is covered by a thin layer of dentin. Therefore, a cavity can progress into the tooth and affect the nerve rapidly. In this case the tooth cannot be “saved” by a simple dental filling.
Treatment of choice for these deep cavities on primary teeth is pulpotomy. In this method the surface part of the inflamed nerve of the tooth is removed by the dentist and the remaining part of the root nerve remains intact.
Pulpotomy is the most common treatment approach and the most widely studied treatment for reversible inflammation of the pulp (nerve) of the tooth. Especially for children’s teeth, which must be kept in the mouth for a long time until the successor permanent teeth appear, pulpotomy is an effective treatment compared to tooth extraction.