Management of the infected, abscessed primary tooth--a report

Despite modern advances in the prevention of dental caries and an increased understanding of the importance of maintaining the natural dentition in children, many abscessed and infected primary teeth, especially the deciduous molars, are still being prematurely lost through extractions. This report describes a simple, quick and effective technique that has been successfully used to manage infected, abscessed primary teeth. Results indicate that the non-vital primary pulp therapy technique is both reliable and effective. Not only is the procedure painless, it also helps to relieve the child of his immediate pain and achieves the primary goals of elimination of infection and retention of the tooth in a functional state without endangering the developing permanent tooth germ.