S.M.
My daughter is 11 and she recently had to have a root canal on a baby tooth and get a cap. Now, they did tell me everything they were doing and why before they did anything. I think it was wrong for your dentist not to tell you. Here is what happened with my daughter: She had a cavity which, like you, I decided not to fill because it was a baby tooth and was going to fall out anyway. Well, that was my first mistake. The cavity got worse, then a couple of weeks ago, she broke it on a piece of candy. It broke because the tooth was already so weak because we didn't fill it. So I took her to the dentist and they took x-rays, where they found that the adult tooth was still a long way from coming in so they said they had to do the baby root canal because the damage was so deep and they could not just pull the tooth because they had to save the space for the adult tooth to come in. If there is an empty space for that long amount of time, the teeth will shift, then when it's time for the adult tooth to come in, it doesn't have enough room. So that is why they capped it. I am guessing the cavity on your little one was so deep that he was in the same situation with needing the root canal and cap. Your dentist really should have explained everything to you. If it were me, I would find a different dentist. You deserve to know what is going on before they do anything. Especially on a child that young.