Does My Child Need a Dental Crown?  

To make sure your child has a healthy and happy smile, caring for their oral health starts from when they are a baby when parents need to gently clean their gums after every feeding.

It can be surprising to learn that in some cases, children need the same types of dental treatments as adults. This is often the case with dental crowns.

Why would a child need a crown for a tooth that will fall out anyways at some point? Can’t the tooth just be extracted?

Find out the answers in this short blog post!

Why Are Dental Crowns Necessary?

Dental crowns are tooth caps designed to help restore a natural tooth when it’s damaged as a result of:

• Severe chips or cracks
• Big cavities or tooth infections
• Dental fractures, etc.

Sometimes the tooth can be so badly damaged that a filling or dental bonding won’t be enough to restore it. And to avoid an extraction, your San Diego pediatric dentist may recommend a dental crown instead.

Why Isn’t the Tooth Extracted?

Understandably, the next question parents have is why doesn’t the dentist just pull the damaged tooth? 

Well, baby teeth actually follow a rather specific timeline when falling out. Most importantly, they usually fall when the permanent teeth are ready to take their place. 

It’s not a good idea to remove a baby tooth before the adult teeth are ready to grow, which is why the dentist will recommend against extraction. The baby teeth may try to compensate for the extra space and shift their position, leading to all kinds of issues with the way your child talks or chews their food.

Moreover, premature baby tooth loss can create issues with the position of the child’s permanent teeth, which can only be corrected with braces when they’re older.

What Does the Process Look Like?

If your child needs a crown, the dentist will first numb the area and treat the tooth if necessary (such as in cases of tooth decay).

Then, the tooth is drilled to make it smaller, and ready to receive the dental crown. If you opt for stainless steel crowns, the child can receive a pre-fitted crown that can fit perfectly in the child’s mouth. The crown is permanently cemented on the tooth.

For zirconia or ceramic crowns, the dentist will take an impression of that child’s mouth and send it to the lab, where the crown is made from scratch. This process can take around 1-2 weeks.

Does Your Child Need a Dental Crown?

If your child is dealing with a large cavity, chip, crack, or any other issue with their oral health, Dr. Wendy Yang at Sprouting Smiles Pediatric Dentistry is here to help restore the little one’s oral health!

Book a dental crown consultation with us online, or call our office at (858) 888-9298 to find out more about our pediatric services.