The short answer is YES. When decay reaches the nerve of a baby tooth, the tooth needs to be treated with a nerve treatment (pulp therapy) if it needs to be saved. Pediatric pulp therapy includes pulpotomy and pulpectomy. The primary goal of pulp therapy is to treat, restore, and save the affected tooth.
Why do we save a bad baby tooth, which will fall off eventually? Because they are needed for speech production, proper chewing, and to guide the proper alignment and spacing of permanent teeth. If teeth are lost too soon, the “space” that they maintain in the jaw for the permanent teeth will close. It may also cause the bite to collapse, and the teeth to shift. This will eventually lead to crooked teeth and a poor bite and may require orthodontic treatment in the future.
In this case, pulpotomy was performed and followed by a stainless steel crown. The crown covers the entire tooth and is fitted under the gum all the way around the tooth so further decay is greatly inhibited. It also helps the baby tooth hold the filling and prevents breaking down.