I totally relate to that “is this really going to work?” anxiety. There’s just something about dental stuff and kids that makes everything feel ten times more stressful. I see a lot of families wrestling with the same choice—root canal or extraction—and honestly, neither one is a walk in the park. Root canals can absolutely hold up for years, but yeah, sometimes you end up back in the chair if it doesn’t heal right or gets re-infected. On the flip side, pulling a tooth brings its own set of headaches, especially if you’re dealing with chewing issues or trying to keep other teeth from shifting around.
Metal partials are sturdy, but I hear you on the food traps. My own nephew had one and he was forever fishing out bits of popcorn... not exactly his favorite part of movie night. I wish there was a perfect answer, but it really does come down to what’s least disruptive for your kid and your routines. Sometimes families lean toward saving the tooth just to avoid messing with spacers or partials, but every situation is different. If only teeth came with an instruction manual, right?
That’s exactly what I keep circling back to—if we pull it, how do you keep the other teeth from drifting? Does anyone’s kid actually tolerate those spacers long-term? I get nervous about root canals failing, but I’m not convinced partials or spacers are any less hassle in the end. My kid’s already picky with food... is it worse with a missing tooth?