Does Cavity Baby Teeth Need to Be Crowned?

I'd recommend getting the crowns, particularly if they are his molars, which the permanent teeth won't come in until around age 9 or 10. My daughter already lost one molar due to a large cavity because we tried to go with just the filing option, and eventually the tooth broke and we had to have it pulled. Now she has this big space holder in her mouth - which is kind of like a retainer - so the other teeth don't shift in and take over the space where the permanent molar will come in. We got the other molar where she had a cavity crowned after that.

Good luck.

It is very necessary to go ahead and get the crowns. I worked for a childrens dentist for 12 years. Once the cavities get too big, crowns are the only way to go. If you put in fillings they will just keep falling out or the rest of the tooth will break off. If you don't repair them, your child will end up with an abscess infection and his face will swell up and then he'll be in a lot of pain.

hi Z....my lil boys was alil younger, only 2 1/2, he had a few cavities, and got a a few caps (silver) put over 2 of his molars, and his top front baby tooth got, i'm not sure wut it was, the back half of his tooth was painted or capped silver. The cavities do hurt them , so ya want to get them taken care of, as he won't lose his first tooth til between 5 and 6 yrs, you could maybe take him to a 2nd childrens dentist and get another opinion, i'm not sure why they think the fillings would break or fall out, don't make sence to me, i would personally just get the caps. GL

I have not read the other responses, but my suggestion would be to get them covered. I know it can be expesive; however, if proper care is not given to his baby teeth, it could permanently damage his adult teeth forming. I took my son to a pediatric dentist for a second opinion, and he ended up with two crowns and the remainder sealed (he had reflux as an infant which damaged his baby teeth).

You need to go ahead with the crowns. His baby molars will still be with him for at least 6-8 more years. My son's enamel never formed correctly on his molars and so he had to have two of them crowned. The other's were caught in time to just do a fill and we have had to go back recently for another one. No problems at all with the crowned teeth though. If you want to, it can't hurt to get another opinion. But if that dentist rec. crowns, I'd do it.

Just so you know, you can get all porcelain crowns if you don't want metal in his mouth.

HAve you considered putting sealants on the other teeth as a proactive approach to avoiding cavities?

Make sure you are brushing his teeth as well; kids don't do a good enough job on their own at his age.

Good luck from someone who is no stranger to the dentist chair!

Our son (will be 5 in November) has 4 crowns and his front 4 teeth bonded. He has Celiac disease that was diagnosed in April, which we contribute the poor dental status too. I am a dietitian and our son rarely has candy, has rarely had full strength juice, etc.

We paid the money knowing that it will prevent problems until his baby teeth fall out. If you get them filled, he may be in pain should the cavities fall out or the teeth might break off.

Our son has to be sedated for dental work since he had a horrible dentist when he was younger. Thankfully, our dentist now is awesome! He's becoming comfortable with her and the staff so we are hoping for great future dental visits.

Good Luck! This is a hard decision. Trust me, my husband and I talked about it over and over again. Our son doesn't seem to mind the silver crowns.

I understand wanting to ask opinions, but tend to agree with Julie A C in that if you really want a second opinion, go to another dentist.

We're facing having our 5 yo daughter getting fillings done because the teeth didn't quite form like they should. They are her adult teeth (the backmost molars on one side), so I don't have the luxury of hoping they'll come out. She showed me the x-rays and my daughters teeth, so there was no question as to necessity.

But the real question is: if he really does need crowns and you have the "regular fillings" done and they don't work, then your poor son is going to have to endure another procedure to get them done right (as probably should have been done in the first place). AND it will probably mean it's going to hurt worse than if you had had it done right the first time. Do you really want him to have to go through all of that just so you can save a few bucks?

I think it would be really worthwhile to get a second opinion from a qualified dentist, or even a third opinion, and then that'll really help you make a qualified decision.

For what it's worth, and good luck!

Hi there. I'm sorry to hear about your son's teeth, but I can completely relate. Our son was 4 when he had to have 11 of his teeth capped. I was sick when the dentist told me the total amount of damage & what all needed fixed.

Quite a few moms here told me "They're just baby teeth. They aren't that important," but that's not true. If his baby teeth are left to decay, the permanent teeth underneath can be affected before they come in. My mom had an abcess in a baby tooth (caused by a big cavity) and it was left alone. When her permanent tooth came in under it, it had a huge hole & had to be pulled.

Getting the caps was not fun, but I'm glad we did it. Our son's top two front teeth had to be capped...if he's like his older siblings he could still have them when he's 7. That's three years. The molars will last even longer. Some of them will be there until he's 11 or 12. They really need to be fixed.

If you have any questions, feel free to private message me!

Z.,
Here is my experience, my son was about the same age and had several cavities. We opted to have them all capped after speaking with our pediodontist. He explained that once cavities start they act as like a virus in the teeth and spread from tooth to tooth until they are all repaired. My son ended up with all of his molars capped except for one that ended up getting absessed and having to be pulled. He is now 12 and he is losing those teeth but his permanent teeth are fine and he is not having cavities now. In our experience it was worth the money to have his teeth fixed, to save all of his other ones. Hope this helps
H.

I'm guessing you trust your dentist, since you choose to go to him/her. So, my advice is to not take the advice of ladies who didn't go to dental school, and instead to take the advice of your dentist. If you're unsure, you can always get a second opinion from a different dentist.

My son needed a crown at the same age. His pediatric dentist explained why it was necessary; all her reasons made sense. With my son, it was a molar that he wouldn't lose until he was around 10. Baby teeth are soft, and sometimes don't hold the fillings properly. You don't want your son to lose too many teeth, to the point where he needs the ring space maintainers (my son had one of those as well). So go ahead, get the crown. The boys really love the silver crowns by the way!

I feel it is important to do the crowns if you pull the baby teeth before there adult teeth are ready to come in all the teeth will shift as I have an older child who has had to have braces her teeth were perfect as a child not one cavity just no space for the adult ones. I wanted to prolong any other dental trama for my younger child. It keeps the placement in line for the adult teeth if the teeth that need to be crowned are molers this could be nine years that your child would be without teeth.

my son was 5 when he had one tooth pulled and 4 crowned. his dentist said the same thing, she did fill the cavities though before she crowned them.

I've read some of the other responses and agree with them but I would also like to ask the question: why does the child has cavities to begin with? Make some changes perhaps cut some sweets to prevent this from happening in the future. Sorry to be such a downer but cavities are no fun and I had my share as a younest and doing my best to help my child avoid the same experience.