Getting it in before story time, just in case
So, I took Julia to the dentist yesterday - the same place that did our eye exams for the glasses. The exam is free, then the doctor tells you what treatments you need, and how much they'll cost. We walked in speaking English, as is our wont, so the doctor spoke mostly English to us as well. I assured him that we were all perfectly comfortable in Spanish, but he enjoyed the practice, and his English was extremely good. His chairside manner was also very good, and he really seemed to enjoy interacting with the girls. Julia needed a filling, an X-ray and a root canal, and got all three on the spot. The grand total was about $70. We have an appointment for Robin tomorrow, long's we're getting teeth looked at.
3 comments:
Excuse me, but what was the 'root canal'? Is this in a deciduous tooth or a permanent tooth?
gabriella
Both the root canal (called "tratamiento de nervio" in Spanish) were on baby teeth, but ones that she should have for at least two or three more years. The doctor said that a child's root canal (which I assume means one on a baby tooth) is not as "deep" as an adult one, whatever that means.
So that was a pulpotomy as opposed to a pulpectomy.
When baby teeth are treated, only the pulp tissue from the pulp chamber in the crown portion of the tooth is removed. The 'nerve' in the roots is either mummified, or these days chlorine bleach is used to dissolve dead tissue and kill bacteria. This is then rinsed out and the tooth is restored.
The chemicals used traditionally to 'mummify' the 'nerve' were formaldehyde based and carcinogenic.
Pulpectomy is a procedure whereby the entire 'nerve' is removed down to the ends of the roots. And etc. I won't bore you further.
gabriella
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