Stainless Steel Crowns for Primary Posterior Teeth
Dental Crowns are one of the most used advanced technologies in all kinds of dental problems. When it comes to primary or secondary teeth, dental crowns offer a great versatility and option to prevent further damage to the tooth as well as to preserve the original tooth and pulp. This means that most dental issues can be solved by using a dental crown. The dental crown in primary teeth helps in full restorations and helps to protect the pulp and the root of the teeth which is essential for oral functions and oral hygiene in kids. Dental crowns in secondary or permanent teeth however offer versatility by reduction of the tooth as per the condition of the damage, crimping and contouring of the crown so as to adjust the crown for the best optimal restoration.
<div="well">Dental crowns are made from a variety of materials. In permanent teeth, the materials are chosen over a wide range of metal and non-metal varieties. But for primary teeth, there are fewer options as not all crowns are suitable for kids. This could either be because of their temporary nature or because of the high chair side time requirement which is a negative in primary teeth. The most popular dental crown material for permanent teeth are:
- Metal Alloys such as Gold and Titanium
- Stainless Steel Crowns
- Porcelain Fused to Metal Crowns
- All Porcelain Crowns
- Ceramic Crowns
- Zirconia Crowns etc </div>
When it comes to primary teeth, there are fewer options which are more suited for the unique requirement of primary teeth that are susceptible to caries and dental damages and the temporary nature of the teeth itself. The most revered dental crown material for primary teeth are:
- Stainless Steel Crowns
- Resin Veneer Crowns
- Zirconia Crowns
- Composite Clear Crowns etc
Preserving primary teeth is of utmost importance in children as this helps in retaining the oral hygiene and the oral functions of a young child. In their learning stage where the child is learning to masticate and enunciate, teeth play an important role in both these functions. Loss of one or more teeth to early age caries or accidental damage can have significant loss of learning ability when it comes to speech, proper mastication and also with respect to self confidence and aesthetics. Children these days are very aesthetic oriented and their parents also give equal importance to these factors and therefore having gaps between teeth due to a missing tooth can be a hindrance.
Another factor why primary teeth must be preserved according to dentists is because of the fact that primary teeth reserve spots for permanent teeth and help in proper growth and alignment of secondary teeth later on in life. The loss of primary teeth exposes them to the risk of improper and misaligned growth of secondary or permanent teeth in children in their teens.
Pediatric Stainless Steel Crowns for Primary Posterior Teeth
Stainless steel is one of the oldest and the most widely used type of material for dental crowns. Stainless steel proves to be one of the sturdiest materials that is also stable and durable in the patient's mouth for a long period of time. Stainless Steel crowns for adults are seldom used these days because of the advent in dental crown material and technologies since new and improved materials have come into existence. But even today, stainless steel crowns for adults are used in old adults who have one or a few teeth replaced in the posterior section. For older adults, aesthetics is less important when compared to functionality. In most cases, where few of the teeth need replacement, dental dams are a better option.
Stainless steel crowns are no longer used for aesthetic reasons in adults and because of the many other durable kinds of dental crown now available in the market such as Zirconia Crowns - that combine the strength and durability of Stainless steel tooth crown with natural, teeth like finish.Pediatric Stainless steel crowns are however used widely in young patients as one of the best suited dental crown material because of a variety of reason:
- Stainless Steel Crown tooth in kids serve a temporary restoration purpose and hold spots for secondary teeth to erupt naturally in their mouth
- Stainless steel tooth crowns are inexpensive and is suited for the temporary restoration purpose and is also one of the best options if there are more than one tooth that needs to be restored
- Stainless steel crowns offer excellent strength and durability for posterior primary teeth restorations
- Stainless steel crowns need very less maintenance which is suitable for young childrens’ lifestyle
- Prefabricated stainless steel crowns offer a great variety of sizes and shapes for young children and therefore reduces the restoration time Stainless Steel crowns for pediatric dentistry are best for kids who are susceptible to early age caries
- Stainless steel crowns are best for reinforced strength and helps prevent fractures in severely damaged posterior primary teeth
Stainless Steel crown for pediatric dentistry is one of the most revered options and has been for a long period of time because of the aforementioned reason. The best reason is perhaps their very economic and cost effective pricing.Stainless steel crowns prevent accidental damages such as fractures, cracks and chipping in severely damaged posterior primary teeth in young children. Kids are prone to such damages due to the weak nature of primary teeth. Stainless steel with a reinforced core can offer greater strength and resistance in young children with severely damaged posterior primary teeth.
Preveneered and Prefabricated Stainless Steel Crowns
Stainless steel tooth crowns come in two different options Prefabricated Stainless Steel crowns come in already designed sizes and shapes and in a great range of varieties that fit most kinds of molars and in some cases even the incisors. This helps the dentist in greatly reducing the time for restoring damaged teeth in anxious young kids and helps in fastening the process. The dentist can easily find the best fits and with just a few adjustments, the patient can get back to their routine.
Stainless Steel crowns are an up and coming form of temporary teeth restorations with a thin layer of ceramic that helps in giving teeth a white finish. Although it combines the functionality of Stainless steel crown tooth with the aesthetics of a ceramic/porcelain crown, It does take longer to crimp or contour such crowns during restorations and they are usually a bit more expensive. They also force removal of original dental material to a larger extent.
Composite Core-Supported Stainless Steel Crowns
The strength and durability of Stainless steel crown tooth is also directly proportional to the filling material that is used during the restoration process on the original primary tooth. The stronger the material and less reactant to external factors the core filling is, the better the strength of the overall dental crown is. In this respect, stainless steel tooth crowns with a composite core-supported filling is supposedly one of the favorable options in the dental world these days. More and more dentists recommend the use of a composite based core in stainless steel crowns because of the increased strength and durability it offers in posterior teeth. Although primary posterior teeth have less need for extreme strength due to the low bite force, it is still deemed to be more resistant in nature with respect to damage control in severely damaged posterior primary teeth.
Composite core material is mostly made of resin based composites. Resin based composites are used as dental filling material in primary posterior teeth restorations. They are used exclusively on teeth when there is a high amount of dental material remaining after the removal of the damaged and decayed dental part. In some cases, only a very little amount of original teeth remains due to the nature of primary teeth. This requires the dentist to combine the use of composite fillings with a stainless steel crown so as to restore the original functionalities of the posterior teeth. It also helps in preventing further damage to the original teeth such as fractures, cracks or plaque build up. Any of these can cause severe damage to the remnant of the original teeth and cause further loss and weakness.
Stainless steel crowns with a composite core is usually done to primary teeth after pulpal therapy. Most kids lose out on a large portion of their original tooth material to decay and caries and therefore need to undergo pulpal therapy to preserve and protect the exposed pulp of the teeth. This then requires composite filling using a resin based composite material. Once the filling is completed, a stainless steel cap or crown is fit on top with adjustments. A cement or adhesive is used to bind them so as to protect the lining and the walls from bacterial damage and micro leaks.
Resin based Composite core has a few advantages such as:
- Increased strength and durability
- Protection from fractures to already damaged posterior teeth
- Resistance to Lateral Occlusal Load/li>
- Super fast setting speed during restorations
- Low Solubility etc
Use of composite core-supported stainless steel tooth crown also requires the use of dentin based adhesives or a sealant as this helps in micro leakages. It is important to control these factors as composite core materials require hemorrhage and moisture control. Therefore these constraints are to be met by the dentists at the time of restoration. But apart from these factors, a composite core supported stainless steel crown tooth can improve the strength, durability and fracture resistance in primary posterior teeth in patients to a great extent.
