What is pulpotomy?

Deep inside the tooth is the dental pulp or the vital tissue comprising of nerves, blood vessels and other tissues. This tissue is protected by the outer covering of dentin and enamel. When the cavity becomes large and deep the caries may reach the inner vital tissue of the pulp. Thus the area of pulp adjacent to the dental decay may get infected and inflamed.

Pulpotomy is the procedure where the superficial part of the infected pulp adjacent to the area of dental decay is removed leaving behind the pulp present deeper inside.

The procedure involves clearing all the decayed tissue and removing a part of the pulp tissue followed by treatment by some medications which would promote healing of the rest of the pulp

Are spaces between teeth normal in children?

It is normal to find the milk teeth in children to be spaced. These spaces between the teeth help later in accommodating the bigger permanent teeth. Thus absence of spaces between the milk teetin children may be a fore warning that the child may not have adequate space to accommodate the bigger permanent teeth which may erupt in a crowded arrangement.

What is the ugly duckling stage?

Ugly duckling stage is a transient phase during childhood when we find a very large space or diastema in the middle between the two upper incisors, which can also be flaring. This occurs due to pressures from adjacent erupting teeth. This stage corrects on its own and does not require any orthodontic intervention.

What are space maintainers?

Sometimes a milk tooth may have to be extracted (due to dental decay or some other cause) much before the permanent tooth is ready to replace it. In such cases the early extraction of the milk tooth may cause the neighboring teeth to move into the space and thus prevent the underlying permanent tooth from erupting into its correct position. To avoid this the dentist may give the child a device called space maintainer that maintains the space till the permanent teeth that replaces the milk teeth are ready to erupt.

Is it normal for the child to suck the finger?

It can be considered quite normal for children to suck their finger upto a certain age. Continued finger sucking beyond 3 years of age may cause serious defects in the developing oral and facial structures including the jawbones.

Why do children suck the finger?

Many children develop the habit of sucking the thumb or other fingers. A number of possible causes exist for finger sucking. These include:

1. Lack of adequate nursing or feeding.

2. Feeling of insecurity due to inadequate parental care, love and affection.

3. Sudden change in domestic or work atmosphere which the child cannot cope with.

4. Stress related to school, friends,etc.

Until what age can the finger sucking be allowed?

Finger sucking may not cause irreversible harm in children less than 3 years of age. However much depends on factors such as duration, intensity and frequency of the sucking habit.

Continuation of the habit beyond 3 years may pose problem for the developing facial and dental structures.

How will the dentist control finger sucking?

Many children stop sucking the thumb when the causative factor is identified and eliminated. Timely nursing, feeding, and increasing the time you spend with the child may to some extent decrease his insecurity.

Slightly older children can be reasoned out of the habit by explaining the bad effects of the habit. The dentist may sometimes advice the use of finger bandaging or the use of bitter medicine to make the habit less pleasurable.

When these simple steps fail the dentist may advice a habit breaker, which is placed behind the front teeth, and prevent the child from sucking the thumb.

What are the effects of finger sucking?

Thumb sucking can cause problems if allowed to persist beyond 3 years of age. Some of the effects include the front teeth being pushed too far forward, spacing of the teeth and therefore poor facial appearance. Continued indulgence in the habit may cause defects in the developing jaw and facial bones.

Do habits like biting the nails, pencil, etc cause harm to the teeth?

Habits like biting nails, pencils, etc besides causing wear of the teeth can cause injury to the gums and supporting structures around the teeth.

In addition the pressures they exert on the teeth may force them into abnormal positions which may necessitate orthodontic treatment.