Has significant decay in your child’s teeth prompted the need for a new dental crown for your little one?
Your child isn’t the only one in this situation. Research shows that among children between the ages of 6 and 8, more than half have had cavities in their baby teeth.
Fortunately, a few simple steps can help your child keep their new dental crown in good condition. Here’s a rundown on everything you need to know about dental crown care.
Let’s dig in!
Encourage Your Child to Practice Excellent Oral Habits
One of the most important tips your child can follow after they get a new crown is to practice stellar oral habits. This includes not grinding their teeth and biting their nails. It also includes not chewing on ice or pencils.
Discourage your child from opening packages with their teeth as well.
All of these habits may break your child’s crown or cause it to become loose. In addition, a hard object may damage their gums.
Make Certain That Your Child Brushes and Flosses
Another step your child can take to protect their new crown is to make brushing twice a day and flossing once daily part of their crown care routine.
You may think a crown-treated tooth can’t experience further decay, but this is not true. Teeth that have been treated with crowns can suffer from decay or gum disease down the road. This is why regular brushing and flossing are so critical.
When you help your child to brush their teeth, pay special attention to where their tooth and gums meet.
When your child brushes, they’ll get rid of any sticky plaque on the crown. The plaque forms when bacteria, saliva, acid, and food mix. Over time, the acid in the plaque can cause cavities.
The purpose of flossing is to remove food particles and germs from around the new crown to keep that area of the mouth as healthy as possible.
Avoid Giving Your Child Hard or Sticky Foods
Your child should also avoid eating extremely hard or sticky foods after getting a new crown. A crown is strong and durable, but your child may still damage it just as they could their natural teeth.
Hard candies, for example, may break, crack, or chip your child’s crown, in which case they would need it replaced. Likewise, chewy and sticky foods may weaken the crown or loosen it. That’s because sticky pieces could become trapped between the gum and the crown.
Get a Sturdy Night Guard Made for Your Child
Your child may also benefit from a night guard to protect their crown, particularly if they tend to grind or clench their teeth at night.
Clenching or grinding may not seem like a serious problem, but these actions can end up taking a major toll on your child’s teeth by breaking them.
Fortunately, a dentist can produce a custom guard for your child to cushion their teeth and keep their crown protected while they sleep.
Get the Crown Treated If It Becomes Damaged
Let’s say your child chips their crown. Rather than replacing the crown, your child’s pediatric dentist might be able to restore their crown.
To do this, the dentist can etch the crown’s porcelain using an adhesive, then bond composite resin to the crown.
Keep in mind, though, that a repaired dental crown will be more susceptible to damage. For this reason, if your child’s crown has sustained a severe chip, replacing the crown might be the best option for them long term.
Stay on Top of Your Child’s Dental Appointments
Finally, one of the best things you can do for your child after they get their new crown is to make sure that they visit the dentist every six months for a cleaning.
It’s especially critical that children with dental crowns avoid skipping their regular appointments. That’s because a pediatric dentist can easily identify and fix any problems with your child’s crown before these problems worsen and become more costly to address.
Also, if your child feels pain while biting down or chewing, you should book an appointment with your child’s dentist right away. The dentist can inspect the crown to determine what’s causing the problem.
For instance, your child may be experiencing pain upon biting because their crown happens to be too high. In this situation, their dentist can adjust the crown’s position and shape.
You should also contact the dentist immediately if your child’s crown falls out due to not being properly fixed. During a dental crown appointment, your dentist can give your child a brand-new crown and fix it in their mouth correctly so that it doesn’t fall out in the years ahead.
Your dentist can furthermore show your child how to brush and floss their teeth and crown properly to maintain excellent oral health in the years ahead.
How We Can Help with Dental Crown Care
The most important dental crown care tips for your child include making sure that your child practices great oral habits, like not biting their nails. Your child should also brush and floss their teeth regularly, as well as visit the dentist for a cleaning every six months.
At Beaumont Kids Dentistry, we take pride in offering anxiety-free dentistry to children. If your child needs a new crown, we can give them a white zirconia crown, which won’t become discolored, chip, or break down.
Get in touch with us to learn more about our children’s dental services, and book an appointment!