When a child's permanent tooth is still growing and the nerve is damaged, the stakes are high. Saving the tooth means preserving the jawbone and avoiding bigger problems later.
A new review of five studies compared two approaches. One is vital pulp therapy, which keeps some living tissue in the tooth. The other is a full root canal. The analysis found that vital pulp therapy had better odds of success, especially in these young, immature teeth.
The review looked at 482 teeth. It found a marked benefit for vital pulp therapy, particularly with a complete pulpotomy and in follow-ups of two years or more. One small set of trials using a material called bioceramic showed near-complete success. No safety problems were reported, but the evidence is not yet definitive. The studies were too small to be certain, and larger trials are still needed.