As a parent, you do all you can to make sure your child grows up with the best oral health and the happiest possible smile. Even with good home hygiene, decay and traumatic injuries can happen and affect the integrity of a primary tooth. We try to keep your child’s primary teeth intact whenever possible until the permanent teeth erupt, which is when restoring your child’s tooth with a pediatric dental crowns become a good option.
Crowns are a restorative procedure used to improve a tooth’s shape or to strengthen a tooth. Crowns are most often used if your child has a tooth that is broken, worn, or damaged by tooth decay, and too damaged to hold a filling.
A crown is a “cap” cemented onto an existing tooth that usually covers the portion of the tooth above the gum line. In effect, the crown becomes the tooth’s new outer surface. Crowns can be made of porcelain, metal, or both. Porcelain crowns are most often preferred on the front teeth because they mimic the translucency of natural teeth, while metal or a porcelain-fused metal (PFM) crowns are best on back teeth because of their strength.
Unlike fillings, which are applied directly onto your child’s tooth, a crown is fabricated in our lab and is based on an impression taken of your child’s mouth. We sculpt each crown for your child so that his or her bite and jaw movements function normally once the crown is placed.
Stainless Steel Crowns
Stainless steel dental crowns are considered a good temporary restoration to save a primary tooth until the permanent tooth can erupt and take its place. Keeping the primary tooth if at all possible is very important. A primary tooth can be restored with a stainless steel crown during one appointment.
Composite Crowns
Composite crowns are made of "white" filling material and used for the front teeth if there is significant damage to the teeth either due to trauma or cavities. They are more esthetic, thus making them suitable to restore the front teeth. The result is more natural, but placing them requires more time and skill. It is well worth the effort to maintain a natural looking smile. However, over time the material can stain or discolor. Additionally, they are weaker than stainless steel crowns, so they require gentle use. Our doctors recommend avoiding using composite crowns to bite into hard foods such as ice, apples, carrots, and other hard foods, so that they don't fracture.