My daughter is six, and she has two baby tooth molars that have broken off because of decay. The dentist says they are infected and need to be extracted. Is there something that can be done to save them?
- Kristina in Wisconsin
Kristina,
Because of the shape of the roots of baby molars, it isn’t possible to do root canal treatments on them. So when they get infected, they need to be extracted. Otherwise, the infection will spread in the bone and affect the developing permanent premolars that will come in their place when she is about 10 to 12 years old.
Also be sure that your dentist puts in a space maintainer to hold the space for the permanent premolars. Since she is six, her permanent first molars will be coming in very soon. They come in behind the baby molars, and they will drift forward and block out the permanent premolars unless a space maintainer is placed to hold that space.
Dr. Brad Beasley isn’t a pediatric dentist specialist – but he is a dentist who loves to treat children.