In cases where there is infection of the nerve or pulp tissue of a primary tooth, there is a need to treat the same to prevent a dental abscess and tooth loss in extraction. This method of treating infected dental nerve tissue is called Pulpectomy. The ultimate objective of this procedure is to save the tooth.

The Pulpectomy procedure is also called partial root canal since in this procedure, the dental pulp and root canal are completely removed. ‘Pulp’ refers to the soft tissue containing the dental nerves inside a tooth and ‘ectomy’ means to cut out. If the decay has progressed into the dental nerves, the tooth will need a Pulpectomy. The treatment is similar to a root canal therapy on a permanent tooth, but is accomplished in one visit. The nerve chambers of the tooth are cleaned, irrigated, dried, and filled with resorbable paste filler. The tooth is then restored with a composite or stainless steel crown. The only alternative to pulpectomy is tooth extraction which could also cause a shift in the surrounding teeth resulting in crooked teeth and eventually possible teeth loss.