Treating Cavities

The last thing you want to hear is that your kid has a cavity, but please don’t worry! Murray Hill Pediatric Dentistry is here to provide the best pediatric fillings, crowns, root canals, and extractions in NYC. With good dental hygiene, regular dentist visits, and the right cavity treatment, we can make your little’s experience minimally unpleasant. If your kiddo is really struggling with fear, ask us about our sedation options.

What Causes Cavities?

Certain bacteria live in the mouth of each person. When these bacteria come into contact with sugary food, they produce acids that dissolve the enamel of the teeth. The resulting holes in the teeth are called cavities.

Tooth-Colored Fillings

We use tooth-colored composite for fillings—no metal, no mercury. These fillings are safe for children and totally natural-looking when they smile. We’ll help your child feel safe and comfortable, and they can watch their favorite kids’ show or movie while we work.

Root Canals

A cavity involving the nerve, or pulp, of a tooth can be extremely painful for your poor baby. The pain may be manageable using painkillers such as Ibuprofen, and we do recommend using them as needed, but the tooth needs help! The pain will unfortunately keep recurring until the underlying problem is resolved.

Pediatric root canal therapy is designed to maintain the integrity of the affected tooth and prevent premature loss, since early loss of posterior teeth can lead to crooked or impacted adult teeth. There is often significant structural damage to the tooth, so it may require a crown.

Crowns

Crowns are sometimes recommended for children following a baby-tooth root canal, or if a back baby tooth has a severe cavity. Since molars tend to hang on until children are 10 to 14 years old, we want to protect the root until that baby tooth falls out on its own. In some cases, a filling will do the trick, but crowns are sometimes needed instead. Stainless steel or white zirconia crowns are available, and we can discuss the pros and cons with you in our office.

Extractions

Sometimes, a tooth has just got to go! This may be the case if a tooth is decayed and non-repairable; or extractions may be needed to accommodate orthodontia. In either case, we go above and beyond to keep your kiddo comfortable. 

Silver Diamine Fluoride

This is a temporary treatment used to postpone dental work such as fillings. When children are too young to reasonably sit for treatment or have temporary behavioral reasons for not being able to do so, we can buy six months to a year by applying this topical treatment. Silver diamine fluoride arrests the decay in the tooth, and the silver in it kills bacteria, thereby preventing the cavity from becoming worse while we wait.