Four ways to fix a baby tooth
A filling
a small cavity
A silver cap
a big cavity, a back tooth
Nerve treatment + cap
decay at the nerve
Pulling + a space holder
cannot be saved
A dentist picks by how deep the decay is. Tap one to start with it.
The look and the X-ray
Visit 1 · 20–40 minutes
A look, a small X-ray, and the dentist shows you how deep the decay goes. Small and calm on purpose: many offices fix a small cavity in the same visit if your child is doing fine.
Filling, cap, nerve treatment or pulling
The fix · 20–45 minutes
Numbing gel, then the injection most children never notice. A filling for a small cavity; a silver cap for a big one on a back tooth; nerve treatment plus a cap when the decay reached the nerve; pulling when the tooth cannot be saved. Laughing gas is common and cheap if your child is anxious.
Numb lip, soft food
The days after
The lip stays numb for an hour or two, watch that your child does not chew it. Soft food that day. A silver cap looks odd for a week and then nobody notices.
Check-ups, sealants, fluoride
After · every 6 months
The regular visit keeps the next cavity from starting: cleaning, fluoride, and sealants on the adult back teeth when they come in around 6 and 12.
What's going on?
Tap one, it starts the quick steps with your answer already in.
Your child's dentist gets the picture before you even call.
Your child's teeth
Your child's teeth
A cavity or a toothache, or the six-month check-up with sealants and fluoride, what other parents near you actually paid, and what each visit is like for a child.
Pick one to see what patients paid.