Can Children Get Dental Crowns?
When permanent teeth decay and need some assistance to stay intact, your dentist might suggest a dental crown. This is a permanent solution for a permanent tooth, but what about when the tooth in need of assistance is only temporary? When your child's tooth has become significantly decayed, traditional dental crowns are not the best solution. Fortunately, there's an option especially for kids.
Dental Crowns for Adults
Dental crowns for adults are custom-made. The dimensions for the crown are precisely measured, and your dentist can use either soft moulding material to take an impression of the tooth, or the measurements can be obtained using a digital scan of your mouth. The prosthetic tooth (which is usually porcelain) is then fabricated in a laboratory, before your dentist prepares your existing tooth by removing a small amount of surface enamel, after which the crown is bonded into place—and with some care on your part, it will stay there forever. Sounds like a lot of effort (and expense) for a tooth that will soon fall out, doesn't it?
Especially for Children
When a child's tooth requires this level of assistance, a dental crown is still used, but the process (and the crown itself) is rather different and rather simple. Fitting a stainless steel dental crown is a standard procedure in family dentistry, and it's intended specifically for children because of the ease of the process.
Intended to Be Lost
Dental crowns can also be called dental caps, and this is what your dentist is doing—capping your child's tooth. The cap means that the tooth retains its strength (courtesy of its new stainless-steel shield) in a way that's simple and inexpensive. This simplicity and cost become important when you consider the fact that the tooth is intended to be lost. The stainless steel crown will not interfere with your child's natural dental development, and the tooth (along with its steel coating) will be shed when the tooth becomes loose of its own accord. The crown can be applied without much preparation, and your dentist might already have an appropriately-sized crown in stock.
Diligence and Care
A stainless steel dental crown is a temporary solution for a temporary tooth, however, diligence and care are still needed. It's unlikely that a tooth will become significantly decayed in isolation, and so your child's dental hygiene will generally need more care so that they won't require additional stainless steel crowns.
It's not ideal when a child's teeth need this level of assistance, although a stainless steel cap can halt the problem, as long as it's in conjunction with your child taking better care of their teeth.
Contact a family dentistry clinic in your area to learn more.
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