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What is a Stainless Steel Crown?

A stainless steel crown is a metal cap used by Dentists and Oral Health Therapists to restore severely decayed baby molar teeth (back teeth) and to prevent it decaying further.

 Why are Stainless Steel Crowns used?

• Tooth is severely damaged with decay
• Crown (top) of tooth is fractured or broken
• Abnormalities from birth or diseases
• Children with a high rate of dental decay
• When no other restorative material can be used to save the tooth
• Prevents the tooth from further decay
• May be an alternative to removing the tooth
• Will fall out naturally when the baby tooth falls out

After the Crown has been applied

After the procedure:

• Make sure the child does not bite their cheek or lip as the soft tissues will be numb (until the local anaesthetic wears off)
• Child may find that their biting may feel unusual for the first few days
• Gums...

What is a Space Maintainer?

A Space maintainer is an appliance designed to preserve a space that must remain open for an unerupted adult tooth. A space maintainer usually replaces one or more teeth. The design of a space maintainer consists of a metal band that hugs around a tooth and a metal loop preserving the space where a tooth is missing. (see picture below).

 Why your child may need a Space Maintainer

Children may need a space maintainer if the deciduous (baby) tooth needs to be removed permanently due to dental trauma or disease. Other reasons may be an abscess, or the tooth may be knocked out from trauma. Baby teeth are important to the development of adult teeth, jaw bones and muscles. They help to guide permanent teeth into position. If the space is not maintained the other teeth can...

What is a Pulpotomy?

A Pulpotomy is the partial removal of the pulp from a tooth. The pulp of the tooth is soft tissue inside the crown and roots of teeth which contain blood vessels and nerves. Only the tissue from the crown of the tooth is removed during a pulpotomy. A pulpotomy is undertaken when an infection of the pulp occurs, usually from tooth decay.4 An Oral Health Professional will remove all of the tooth decay and gain access to the pulp of the tooth. The open chamber of the tooth is then treated with a medication and sealed with a restoration. If tooth decay is left untreated it may progress to the pulp which causes inflammation, increased sensitivity to hot and cold and symptoms of pain in the tooth.

Risks and Complications of Pulpotomy

Pulpotomies have a high success rate. If...