Stem Cell Technique Could Help Kids Avoid Root Canal

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According to dental experts, the excised nerve tissue is not critical to normal oral function once adult teeth have matured, so removal of degenerated matter does not induce long-term problems.

However, nerve/pulp tissue is vital to the healthy development of teeth in children under the age of 16. The adult tooth-maturation process takes approximately three years to complete from the time a tooth first appears.

That means that in younger patients, root canal can stop this process and boost risks for dental complications, fractures, and even facial disfigurement.

But Huang's team knew that the pulp in maturing teeth is much richer in blood supply than that seen in adults. It also has a greater ability to regenerate itself compared to the pulp inside adult teeth. That's because stem cells inside children's teeth have the capacity to generate into the material that forms "dentin" -- the tooth's primary connective tissue.

So, would periodontitis treatments that allowed stem cells to stay in place and do their vital work leave kids with stronger teeth?

To find out, Huang's team tackled four cases of periodontitis in Taiwanese boys and girls between the ages of nine and 10 who were treated for the disease between 1988 and 2000.

In place of a root canal, the pulp chambers of the children's problem teeth were irrigated with about 20 ml of 2.5 percent sodium hypochlorite -- a chemical compound often used as a disinfectant and bleaching agent.

Following the cleansing, the teeth were dried and filled with a calcium hydroxide paste -- a removable anti-microbial compound. The researchers avoided the use of invasive filling, so that they could preserve the affected tissue and avoid unnecessary extraction of helpful stem cells.

The process was repeated several times until radiographic exams revealed full tooth healing and an absence of periodontitis symptoms.

Follow-up exams carried out for up to 5 years after the treatment showed that in all cases, the disease was halted and affected teeth grew to healthy maturity.