Accepting New Patients
Accepting New Patients
If your child’s dentist mentioned that a tooth needs a crown, your first reaction might be surprise. A crown? On a baby tooth? It can feel like a lot for a tooth that’s just going to fall out anyway. But there’s a pretty straightforward reason it’s needed sometimes, and it’s worth understanding before you decide anything.
Baby teeth hold space for the permanent teeth growing beneath them. When a baby tooth is badly damaged by decay or injury, a filling needs to be supported by the remaining tooth structure to keep it intact. If there’s not enough tooth left to support a filing then a crown would be needed to save the tooth. Dr. Ray Klein and Dr. Hayley Botwin take a measured, case-by-case approach to treatment, which means crowns are only on the table when they’re the right call.
A crown is a cap that fits over the entire visible portion of a tooth. For baby teeth a common type is a stainless steel crown, which is prefabricated, durable, thin (very little tooth structure needs to be removed to make it fit) and thus one of the most reliable restorations available for children. We also offer porcelain crowns which are tooth-colored and sometimes preferred by parents concerned about esthetics. We never place anything but tooth colored crowns on the front teeth, where appearance matters more.
Our goal is simple: protect what’s left of the tooth so it can do its job until it naturally falls out. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s best practices for restorative dentistry, full coverage crowns are recommended for primary teeth with extensive decay, or when there isn’t enough healthy structure remaining to support a filling.
Not every cavity leads to a crown – in fact, it’s pretty rare. At Silicon Beach Pediatric Dental, we see a lot of kids, and most of them leave without needing any restorative treatment at all. Crowns come up in specific situations, including:
This comes up a lot, and it’s a fair question. Baby teeth do fall out, so why go through the trouble to save them? The answer has to do with timing. A tooth that falls out at age 10 (did you know that’s how long molars last on average?) can’t be pulled at age 4 without consequences. Those primary molars are holding space that permanent teeth need, and losing them early can shift things in ways that are difficult to correct later. There’s a real connection between how cavities in baby teeth affect permanent teeth, and a crown helps avoid bigger problems later on.
Dr. Ray and Dr. Hayley lean toward doing less, not more, whenever the situation allows for it. One size doesn’t fit all. But when a tooth is compromised enough that a filling isn’t going to work, and leaving it unprotected would cause more harm than good, a crown is the practical choice.
Crown placement for children is done in a single visit. The tooth is prepared, a crown is fitted and adjusted to sit comfortably, and it’s cemented in place. The whole thing usually takes less than an hour. Kids handle it well, especially in a setting like our office that feels caring and relaxed.
We always make a point to explain what’s happening in terms kids understand, and move at a pace that works for them. If your child has had routine dental exams and cleanings with us, they’re already familiar with our office and team, which helps a lot.
Dr. Ray Klein completed his pediatric training at USC and did his residency at Long Beach Miller Children’s Hospital. Dr. Hayley Botwin, also a graduate of the USC pediatric dental program, has been part of this practice long enough that some families remember her years as a hygienist here before she became a dentist. Together, they bring a calm, no-pressure approach to every appointment, including ones that need more involved treatment.
If you have questions about whether your child needs a crown, or you want to talk through what was recommended at a previous visit, reach out through our contact form, and we’ll walk you through it.
Dr. Ray Klein and Dr. Hayley Botwin take a direct approach with every family: they tell you what they see, walk through your options, and let you make the call. SDF fits the way they practice because it lets them address early decay without doing more than the situation actually calls for. That matters when you’re talking about baby teeth and young kids who have a long relationship with the dentist ahead of them.
Silicon Beach Pediatric Dental is in-network with most PPO insurance plans, and the team is happy to walk you through coverage for SDF at your child’s visit. To find out whether SDF is the right fit for your child, contact our office and schedule a time with Dr. Ray Klein or Dr. Hayley Botwin.
Mon-Fri: 9am – 5pm
