A stainless steel crown was placed on one or more of your child’s teeth today. The indication for the use of crowns over conventional dental fillings is that when major decay is removed, it is necessary to protect the entire tooth against breakage during chewing. Large conventional fillings will not withstand the tremendous biting pressure in children. A stainless steel crown will.

Once a stainless steel crown is placed on a primary (baby) tooth, the tooth will still be able to exfoliate (fall out) just like a normal tooth without the crown.

  • Local anesthesia was used, so please follow our directions in Instructions for care after local anesthesia in children.
  • Your child should have a soft diet the remainder of the day.
  • The gums may appear red and feel sore after the placement of the crown. This is normal and should improve within a week. Keep the area clean with brushing and flossing. Whitish material (dental plaque) should be removed with brushing. The gums may bleed initially. This is normal and brushing should not be discontinued if this occurs. If this whitish material (plaque) is left on the sides of the crown, it will cause gum inflammation (infection).
  • Your child may describe the crown/s as feeling different. Please allow time for your child to get used to this feeling. Your child may have initial sensitivity to hot or cold foods and/or liquids. This will subside over a few weeks as the tooth acclimates to the new crown/s.
  • Have your child avoid sticky candies, gums, taffies, etc. They may weaken the adhesive cement that was used to permanently place the crown on the prepared tooth. If the crown does come off, save the crown and call our office. Do not wait too long as the tooth without the crown may move in the mouth and require the tooth to be re-prepared for a new crown. Often if the crown is found, and an appointment is made to re-cement the crown without delay, the re-cementation can easily be accomplished without local anesthesia. There may be a financial charge to either re-cement a crown that has come off or re-prepare the tooth for a new crown.