Baby teeth are temporary and seem unimportant as they eventually fall out as your child grows.
However, baby teeth play a crucial role in proper speech development, consume balanced diet and avoid crowding issues with adult teeth. Besides, healthy baby teeth prevent infection and make your child smile with confidence.
The Roanoke pediatric dentist at Parkway Dentistry recommends dental crowns, if your child’s primary teeth show extensive decay. It helps to preserve the damaged tooth’s functionality and avoid future complications due to loss.
Reasons baby teeth need dental crowns
Preserve the tooth structure
If decay or large cavity is ignored, the baby tooth is vulnerable to further damage. A dental crown completely covers the damaged tooth structure. Thus further decay or tooth loss is prevented.
Maintain bite function
Biting is difficult, when your kids tooth is decayed or damaged. A dental crown covers entire portion offering a strong, durable surface to handle the forces generated while chewing.
Thus, it helps to maintain bite function and prevent from breaking further. It allows your child to enjoy a balanced diet without any pain.
Maintains the place
Baby teeth are placeholders for developing permanent teeth underneath it. If baby tooth is lost prematurely due to decay, there is a space created.
Due to this, the natural eruption pattern of permanent teeth is disturbed. It can lead to misalignment or crowding of teeth.
A dental crown on a damaged baby tooth ensures it stays in place for proper outbreak of the permanent tooth.
Preserves jaw development
Early loss of a tooth can obstruct the jaw development process. It could lead to a smaller jaw size in adulthood. A dental crown keeps baby teeth in place and ensures proper jaw development.
Speech development
Missing or damaged teeth can impact your child’s speech development. A dental crown helps to maintain proper pronunciation and speech clarity.
Dental crowns for baby teeth – types
There are various materials used in preparing the dental crowns. Each has its pros and cons.
- Stainless steel crowns– Stainless Steel crowns are the most common and affordable pre-fabricated option. They are durable and ideal for back teeth as it ensures significant chewing force. Nevertheless, the silver colour makes them visible, especially in the front of the mouth.
- Composite resin crowns– For front teeth, composite resin crowns are an aesthetically pleasing option as these are similar to your kid’s tooth color. It needs less tooth removal in comparison but is not as durable.
- Pre-formed crowns– Pre-fabricated crowns are made from plastic or ceramic. They are the good middle ground between durability and aesthetics.
Considerations for baby dental crowns
A paediatric dentist will thoroughly examine your child’s damaged tooth before determining dental crown.
Several factors will be considered while making the decision –
- Tooth damage severity
- Location
- Child’s age
- Overall health
The benefits of a dental crown on a temporary tooth is more because it ensures –
- Proper permanent tooth development
- Reduces future complication risks
- Eliminates the need for invasive procedures like braces, down the line.
Conclusion
A dental crown for a temporary baby tooth seems like an unnecessary investment. Unfortunately, the benefits outweigh the cost as it restores functionality and ensures proper eruption of permanent teeth. A tiny crown can make a lot of difference in your kid’s life!
