Crown vs. Extraction

You may have taken your child to the dentist and now they are recommending a crown or extraction for an anterior tooth. This treatment will be recommended if your child’s tooth is broken, cracked or decayed until the permanent tooth begins to come in. Which option Dr. Fuller suggests will depend on whether the tooth can be saved or not. 

Metal crowns will be utilized if they are able to save the tooth. These types of crowns are ideal in a child’s mouth because they do not corrode; they can last for several years, they fall out naturally when permanent teeth begin to erupt and are very safe for children.

In order for the dentist to place a crown a puploptomy may need to be done. This is a form of a root canal for a child. This helps clean the bacteria in the child’s mouth in order for the crown to be placed. You don’t want to have decay under the crown because otherwise your daughter or son may continue to be in pain. Tooth decay in kids can also cause low cognitive functioning, slow weight gain and possibly even death.

An extraction is another option that your dentist may recommend. This option would be completed if there is not enough bone for the crown to be stabilized or if there is not enough of the tooth to attach a crown. If they extract the tooth a spacer will need to be placed in your child’s mouth in order to keep the space open when permanent teeth come in.

There are multiple types of spacers. The spacer that Dr. Fuller recommends will depend on where the space is located in the mouth and what your child needs. Spacers help to maintain the location in the mouth says Dr. Cameron Fuller at Pediatric Dentistry of Redlands and Associates. If the space is not maintained then other teeth may drift into the space and cause a problem for your child when their permanent teeth begin to come in.  Spacers can be used for a long period of time and can be removed when their permanent teeth come in. 

Contact Dr. Fuller and his team today for an appointment