Capping front tooth - is child too young - told to wait until he is 18? Confused?

Question

I have a feeling my state funded dental plan for my 9 yr old child is playing a role in this dentist not wanting to cap my child's front tooth. My son chipped his tooth last April, 2006 (about one-third of front tooth was broken off). To repair the dentist bonded this tooth. Since last year he has had to have this tooth repaired 4 times due to trauma and the bonding material chipping off and/or chipping his tooth above the bonding. It chipped again only after 2 days of being fixed from eating a soft taco and the dentist decided to put in two pins to help the structure of the bonding material. I asked him about possibly capping the tooth and he disagreed until my son is around 18 due to the tooth still growing and the cap line will be below the gum line within a few years. It seems ridiculous to keep rebonding over and over again and I need a professional opinion if you think this dentist advice is accurate.

Answer 1

Your dentist is correct and not trying to put it off for any other reason except his growing years. As children grow their teeth continue to erupt, so his hasn't fully come it yet and the teeth aren't settled into the position they will be at when he's fully grown. If a crown were to be placed now with in a few years it would need to be replaced due to his growth, or you could leave it with 3/4 of the tooth showing crown and the rest his natural tooth. It would look really bad, trust me. Also, it would be to much trauma on the tooth to continually be changing crowns, as each time the tooth would loose a little more of it's structure.

The best thing your son can learn to do, is never bite into anything. Always cut up food and place it in the mouth to chew. That means pizza, taco's, burgers, apples and fruit also sandwiches. I know it rough, but to perserve the structure of the tooth, it's better to do this. Everytime he breaks the bonding out, he's prone to loose a little more tooth structure, eventually he may expose the nerve and need a root canal therapy. So that's why I'm suggesting that you follow the dentist advice, and we always recommend that the patient cut everything up that he eats. In the long run it will be the best choice to wait for his growth years to pass before doing a crown for the tooth. I hope I've helped you to understand why, this is very common in active children. The dentist was wise to place pins for added retention, but he needs your son's help as well, by avoiding biting into anything. Good luck, and those years will pass by very quickly, and you'll wonder where they went.

You might want to ask the dentist to take the "tooth completely out of occlusion," this will help him by not putting pressure on the tooth's bonding when he puts his teeth together, or end to end.

Answer 2

When I was nine 2 of my front teeth got smashed playing football as a result I had caps installed.When my cap line grew the dentist replaced them with larger caps all done on the NHS.Hope this helps.

Answer 3

hi......am not a professional dentist,but I think there is some element of truth in what your dentist says...at 9years old,he is still growing...but if you doubt him, go and seek a second opinion.
not much help, but good luck.