Pediatric Fillings Vs. Pediatric Crowns

Childhood tooth decay is a condition, and the National Institute of dental and craniofacial research reports that nearly 42 percent of children between two and 11 have cavities. Unfortunately, parents often overlook cavities because they are located in areas not apparent, like between the teeth, the back molars, and close to the gums.

Suppose cavities are detected on children’s teeth by the pediatric dentist near you. In that case, the treatment children receive is more accessible than when a hole expands to leave the tooth broken and beyond repair. The extensive damage can be the difference between getting pediatric fillings for your child or restoring the tooth with pediatric dental crowns. This article considers why these treatments become essential for children, in particular, to preserve their natural teeth.

Pediatric Fillings

Dental fillers help fill a hole in the tooth after removing existing tooth decay. The pediatric dentist removes decay after giving your child local anesthesia in the mouth before cleaning the spot and disinfecting it. The dentist restores the tooth with tooth-colored composite resin, applying it in layers in the tooth, hardening it with ultraviolet light, and polishing the tooth to give it a natural sheen. However, suppose the hole is left untreated. In that case, the mouth bacteria continue damaging it and burrowing it deep until they infect the dental pulp and require intensive endodontic treatment or tooth extraction.

Pediatric fillings are beneficial because they cost fewer dollars than crowns, and you can have tooth-colored fillings from composite resin on your child’s tooth to ensure the fillers don’t impact their smile. However, you help yourself by understanding that composite resin fillings are not suitable for larger or multiple fillings in the same tooth or for decay near the tooth’s nerve.

Pediatric Crowns

Pediatric crowns resemble adult crowns resembling tooth-shaped caps to cover and protect an entire tooth. Suppose your child needs dental crowns near you. In that case, the dentist will likely recommend stainless steel or tooth-colored porcelain crowns for extensive repairs to preserve teeth with minimal tooth structure or having received multiple procedures on the same tooth. In addition, pediatric crowns are more durable than fillings and help keep baby teeth healthy until it is prepared to fall out, and the crowns offer an excellent technique to protect the back molars, which fall out by 12.

Pediatric crowns seem more expensive in the short term but are a cost-effective remedy in the long run. Unfortunately, pediatric crowns require tooth structure removal from the affected tooth to accommodate the restoration of the child’s tooth. In addition, the size of pediatric crowns is ungainly because of the stainless steel material. Finally, although porcelain crowns are aesthetic, they can chip and are expensive.

Suppose your child has an infected tooth or teeth. In that case, you must ensure they receive treatment for the condition by visiting the nearby pediatric dentist to have the tooth filled and sealed before the damage expands to infect the dental pulp if you leave a cavity untreated until it grows. Your kid needs a root canal, the alternatives before you are limited.

You can accept the suggestion of the nearby pediatric dentist for your child to receive a root canal and restore the tooth with dental crowns in Houston, TX, for functionality by restoring the tooth’s strength or appropriate use. Alternatively, you can have the child’s tooth extracted, especially if the tooth is severely affected and the infection spreads to the surrounding bone and gums. An extraction helps preserve the permanent tooth’s health because the permanent tooth’s bud grows between the roots of the baby tooth.

If you wish to prevent cavities in children’s teeth, schedule six monthly appointments for your kids with the nearby pediatric dentist for exams and cleanings. The half-yearly visits to the dentist make it easier for your child to receive fluoride treatments after dental cleanings besides dental sealants on their premolars and molars as a preventive measure against cavities because the sealant creates a smoother surface on the back teeth to prevent trapping of particles from enabling your child to clean them appropriately. Children’s dental appointments are essential because they are a preventive measure against tooth decay and cavities and don’t require treatments like pediatric fillings or crowns at considerable costs.

If your kid has a damaged tooth from tooth decay, Urbach Pediatric Dentistry provides dental fillings for minor damage and crowns for significant injury. Consult this practice to optimize your child’s oral health by learning preventive measures against cavities to safeguard their dental health.