Pediatric crowns

A pediatric crown is tooth-shaped “cap” placed over a tooth to restore its shape, size and strength. They are proven to be the most successful treatment for large cavities in children and adolescents. The crown covers the entire tooth and protects it from further decay.

They are routinely used following pulp therapy, in children at high risk for tooth decay to protect remaining at-risk surfaces, in cases of extensive tooth wear (e.g. bruxism, enamel defects), fractures, severe enamel erosions, or to hold space maintainers in place. They are particularly recommended for children who are unable – because of age, behavior, or medical history – to fully cooperate during the dental treatment. On occasion, they need to be used on newly erupted adult teeth with extensive decay or enamel defects until a more permanent restoration can be done.

Pediatric crowns can be made of stainless steel (“silver crown”), veneered metal (stainless steel, aluminium), resin or zirconia.

While stainless steel is still the best in terms of durability and fit, the metal-free, tooth-colored zirconia crown offers maximum esthetics acceptable by pediatric patients. Zirconia is also preferred to stainless steel in children with allergy to metals like nickel or chrome. However, zirconia crowns are more technique sensitive than stainless steel, may require additional time to fit, cause wear on opposing teeth, and cannot be used as a part of a fixed space maintainer.

On occasion, a tooth may be too damaged to be repaired with a stainless steel crown. If this is the case, the dentist may discuss other treatment options including extraction of the broken tooth.

Failure rate of pediatric crowns is very low – they rarely need to be replaced.

AG dentistry offers stainless steel crowns, strip crowns and pediatric zirconia crowns.