Sometimes, damage can occur to your child’s tooth and cause it to become compromised. This means the structure of the tooth is no longer viable and able to function normally. When this happens, a dentist often has no choice but to pull the tooth and place a spacer where the missing tooth was, until your child’s adult tooth comes in. In some cases, a damaged tooth can be saved, through the placement of a crown. This information will assist you in knowing what to expect if your child’s tooth needs a crown. Through pediatric dentistry, your child’s tooth may be saved from needing an extraction.
How Does the Dentist Place a Crown Over Your Child’s Primary Tooth?
When your child’s primary tooth needs a crown, the pediatric dentist near Yorba Linda will typically use a stainless steel crown. These have been proven effective in treating decay and damage in primary teeth for over fifty years. These crowns provide your child’s tooth with strength and stability, so it does not experience further damage and can continue to provide the role of holding a place for your child’s adult teeth and helping them to be able to chew and develop their speech properly.
First, the dentist will numb the area of the tooth with a special gel. Once this has numbed the area, the dentist will inject Novocaine, so your child will not feel pain during the procedure or directly after. The first part of the procedure involves shaping the tooth, to prepare it to receive the crown. The shaping process not only prepares the tooth, but also removes the decayed portion. This helps to ensure further damage does not occur in the tooth.
The dentist will then check to make sure the crown fits perfectly over the tooth and then it will be cemented into place, so it becomes permanently adhered to the tooth. Once the baby tooth falls out, to make way for the adult tooth, the crown will fall out with it.
If your child is in need of a dental crown, this information can prove helpful. Contact Kids Dental Specialists for pediatric dentist near Yorba Linda.
