What Kind of Treatments Can Relieve Your Child’s Toothache?

Posted July 15, 2020

When your child has a toothache, addressing it isn’t always easy, especially on your own. That’s because the discomfort is often a sign of something wrong with your child’s tooth, and addressing the underlying concern requires professional dental treatment. Today, we examine a few such concerns and how they can lead to your child’s tooth aching, as well as specific treatments we can customize to help your child find lasting relief from the pain.

Preventive treatments to strengthen their teeth

One of the more common reasons for children to develop tooth sensitivity involves the diminishing strength of their natural tooth enamel. This outer layer of their teeth, which made almost entirely of minerals (like calcium), forms the main protective barrier between your child’s teeth and harmful oral bacteria. The main tooth structure underneath it, called dentin, is more sensitive, and enamel grows weak, the tooth can begin to ache. In many cases, we can help alleviate this with preventive treatments designed to strengthen your child’s tooth enamel. For example, fluoride treatment can fortify the enamel’s mineral strands, while dental sealants can provide an additional barrier against harmful oral bacteria.

Restorative treatment to fill a cavity

Sometimes, your child’s tooth might not cause any significant discomfort until the enamel around it has already been compromised, which often means the tooth has begun to decay. Tooth decay is an infection in the dentin that results from exposure to harmful oral bacteria, and it’s the reason why teeth develop cavities, or holes. If the decay is treated early, we may be able to save your child’s tooth and alleviate the discomfort by cleaning the cavity and placing a biocompatible, tooth-colored filling inside of it.

Conservative treatment for severe decay

Filling a cavity that is still early in its development is a common way to treat a child’s cavity and toothache. However, if the tooth experiences severe decay, meaning the infection has reached the tooth’s inner pulp chamber, then the discomfort and the infection itself can become much more intense. Treating severe tooth decay is essential in helping your child avoid more complex oral health problems in the future. It can also be accomplished with a conservative procedure known as pulpotomy, which is similar to root canal treatment but designed specifically for children’s teeth.

Learn how to treat your child’s toothache

If your child’s tooth hurts, then it may be a sign of the tooth decaying, and alleviating it could require treating the tooth decay conservatively. To learn more, schedule an appointment by calling Pediatric Dental Care at Casa Linda in Dallas, TX today at 214-321-4880. We proudly serve patients who live around Casa Linda and all surrounding Dallas communities.