Stainless steel crowns

When a back baby tooth has extensive decay, we may recommend a stainless steel crown. This is a prefabricated silver-colored cap that is specially shaped and sized to fit and protect a baby tooth.

Whenever possible, we try to treat the tooth without involving the nerve. However, when a cavity is very deep, a pulpotomy (“baby root canal”) may sometimes be needed as well.

Large fillings in baby teeth often do not hold up well over time, especially on back teeth that take a lot of chewing pressure. For that reason, stainless steel crowns are often the most durable and reliable way to restore a tooth with significant damage. They are especially common after a pulpotomy, when the tooth structure has been weakened and a regular filling is less likely to last until the tooth naturally falls out.