At Skyline Smiles, Dr. Harleen Grewal is a board-certified pediatric dentist who takes great pride in starting children out right when it comes to their dental health. From your baby’s first tooth to late-coming wisdom teeth, our goal is to provide your children with the necessary tools and resources for a lifetime of great oral health.
Here’s a look at how a pediatric crown fulfills this goal in several different ways.
Developmental teeth are important
After your child’s first tooth comes in, usually at about six months, the other 19 primary teeth take up their positions over the next two years or so. You may think of these baby teeth as “disposable,” but they play incredibly valuable roles in helping your child learn to chew and speak.
With a pediatric crown, we can cover a badly decayed or damaged tooth so that your child still has the use of all 20 teeth for chewing and language development.
Holding space
In addition to helping your child chew and talk, baby teeth also play critical roles as space holders for their permanent teeth. If a child loses a baby tooth too early, their existing teeth can shift out of place and cause problems like impaction when their secondary teeth try to break through.
If your child still has some time before their secondary teeth come in, we recommend protecting and preserving the baby tooth with a pediatric crown so that their secondary teeth have the space they need to erupt without issue. Obviously, if your child loses a baby tooth near the time when the secondary tooth is about to erupt, we’ll leave well enough alone.
Providing a little backup
Pediatric crowns are also great tools for providing a little strength to a weakened tooth that likely won’t withstand the rigors of chewing for much longer. With a pediatric crown, we can cover the weak tooth, saving you from a potentially larger (and more painful) problem down the road should the tooth break.
A softer approach
Another concern when it comes to small children is the use of anesthesia. To avoid sedation dentistry to remove a tooth or perform extensive dental work, we can simply prep the tooth for a pediatric crown, instead, which only requires minimal anesthesia.
If you’d like to learn more about the many benefits of pediatric crowns in preserving your child’s dental health, contact our office in Santa Clarita, to set up a consultation.