How do you fix large cavities on the front teeth?
If a baby tooth has been severely affected by dental decay or pulp therapy has been performed on the tooth, a regular silver or white filling is not the treatment of choice. Due to the size of the cavity and root canal treatment, something that covers the entire tooth must be used such as an esthetic white crown.
A stainless steel crown (SSC) is a prefabricated crown designed and manufactured in a variety of sizes to fit your child's tooth. Our office uses "Ion Crowns" made by the 3M Company that are very precisely designed to simulate the original anatomy of the tooth that they are covering. Also, these 3M "Ion Crowns" are manufactured to be sized and fitted to your child's tooth in a much shorter time by our doctors. This is a great benefit to your child as he/she is in the dental chair for a shorter period of time. The benefits of placing a stainless steel crown on a tooth include full coverage of the damaged tooth, decreasing the risk of future cavities to that same tooth, saving the proper amount of space for the eruption of the permanent tooth, the restored ability to bite and chew his/her food properly, and the ability to speak properly.
Esthetic white crown is an all resin crown or a prefabricated zirconia crown. The location of the tooth and the extent of decay can determine which restoration is preferable. The advantage of these crowns is their ability to blend in with the adjacent natural teeth. The disadvantages are a higher rate of fracturing the restoration, and zirconia crowns may wear the enamel of opposing teeth faster.
Doctor Wang, Doctor Perea-Corkish, Doctor Gerodias and the other Doctors of Discovery Pediatric Dentistry make no warranties, expressed or implied, as to any results to be obtained from use of the information on this page. We cannot diagnose or treat patients over the Internet. Information on this site is for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for personal, medical, and/or dental attention or diagnosis. Without all available information about a patient, it is impossible to make a diagnosis. Help and answers are in the form of general ideas. Only you, your dentist, and other necessary and qualified health care providers can make an appropriate treatment decision in an emergency or for everyday care and dental treatment.