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Experience w/ a dental crown for a 5 yr old?

susanlovestexassusanlovestexas member
in School-Aged Children

DD went to the dentist today for her 6 month check up and they said her teeth look great.  No plaque build up and healthy gums and congratulated us on good dental hygiene....except for 1 problem tooth!  This one tooth has a huge cavity that has already taken over about a third of the tooth and it needs a crown.  The pediatric dentist we went to will only do this procedure on a child her age by putting her to sleep using anesthesia.  The cost for the anesthesia alone is $900 and not covered by insurance at all.  Then another $472 out of pocket for the actual dental work.  Holy crap! 

Anyone else had this procedure done?  Was your child put under?  This is my first experience with anything like this and I just wondered if this is typical.  Thanks!

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Re: Experience w/ a dental crown for a 5 yr old?

  • sweetie0228sweetie0228 member
    Is it a permanent tooth or a baby tooth?  If it's a baby tooth I would just have it pulled and wait for the permanent tooth to grow in.  If it is a permanent tooth I would then have the crown done.
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  • neverblushedneverblushed member
    Ditto pp.  If it's a baby tooth (which it probably is at her age), I'd explore the option of having it pulled and waiting for the permanent tooth to grow in.  If your dentist resists this, I'd explore getting a 2nd opinion.
    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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  • GinandTonicGinandTonic
    What they said.  Can't he just pull the tooth?
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  • susanlovestexassusanlovestexas member
    If they pull the tooth, the surrounding teeth will crowd in and leave no space for the permanent tooth to come in.  We would have to have a place holder put in which would be less comfortable for DD (permanent tooth won't come in for another 6 years or so) and would cost about the same.  Crowns for baby teeth are stainless steel and not as pricey as crowns adults would get.
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  • susanlovestexassusanlovestexas member
    image-auntie-:

    My son had a fractured molar that decayed when he was about 3 1/2. It was probably days away from a root canal when I discovered it about 6 weeks after a complete exam w/o xrays.

    DS had to have an extensive filling. We did sedation rather than full anesthesia. This allowed him to do the procedure in the office rather than a surgical suite. DS was given a small dose of Valium p.o. and then N2O by mask along with Novicaine. He did really well with it. We had really good dental insurance at the time and ended up with a small copay for the procedure but not the Valium which was billed as "behavior management" $40 for 5mg generic Valium.

    It was worth it. DS never developed huge anxiety around dental visits. Not sure if sedation is an option for a crown restoration or not. You could ask.

    The more I read and research, the less comfortable I am with using general anesthesia for the procedure.  There are just too many risks and it seems like overkill.  My daughter is anxious and nervous at the dentist, but if they go slowly and explain what they're doing, she has always been fine.  She is very cooperative and doesn't even cry.  I plan to look for a dentist, like yours, who will do the crown without iv sedation.

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  • P.G.&A.M.P.G.&A.M.

    1) Don't just pull it as some posters suggest! That baby tooth saves space for the permanent tooth. You'll likely pay more in the long run for braces if space problems are created.

     2) There are different things they can use to control anxiety/behaviors- nitrous oxide, sedation, general anesthesia. The dentist is likely to suggest that which he/she feels is going to best for the patient and the case. A crown for a child does take a lot more time and cooperation from the patient than a filling and will require a shot of anesthetic. They also, as pediatric dentists, like to make the experience as easy and pleasant as possible on the child as to not induce any trauma that may make it difficult to get the child back into the dental chair in the future.

    3) I know some people have brought their children to a dental school that has a pediatric program and have had services done at 1/3 to 1/2 the cost. I don't  if it's even an option for you, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

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  • 4LittleDucks4LittleDucks member

    My son is 5 and was adopted internationally at the age of 2.  He has a ton of cavities that our previous dentist opted to "just watch" and we didn't feel comfortable with that.  We are finally preparing to get all the dental work done at one - 13-15 fillings with 2 crowns.  As previously mentioned - DO NOT pull the tooth.  If it is a molar it could be 5+years before the permanent tooth comes in and that is way too long - as mentioned, the surrounding teeth will crowd the spot. 

    We will be taking him to the hospital.  Personally, I don't want him to remember the procedure and be terrified of the dentist in the future.  This way he will just wake up and it will be done.  The sound of the drills, possible pain (I've had cavities drilled where they couldn't get it numbed all the way and it hurt like the dickens!) it just too much in my opinion.  I connect with several other international adoption families who have undergone dental work with their kids (not all as extensive as my son's but teeth problems are not uncommon with the adoption of older children from overseas) and this is pretty common procedure.  Not fun or cheap, but I think in the longrun it will be least traumatic.  I told our dentist to pick out her new SUV because it will be on us!

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  • Swoop1Swoop1 member

    The same thing happened when my son was 3.5/4 the dentist used just a little laughing gas, and didn't put him under. The laughing gas wasn't covered by our insurance either, but was only $75-$150 (I can't quite remember). We also paid out of pocket for some, not all, of the crown. My son did great and the crown is still fine 2 years later.  

     

    The problem was discovered at a different dentist who said he wouldn't do it because my son would have to go "under" and he didn't have the capabilities to do that in his office. So I searched around and found a kid friendly dentist that offered anesthesia, but once we were there that dentist said he didn't think it would require anesthesia.

     

    Sorry if I'm rambling, I'm up for a midnight feeding and typing 1-handed.  

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  • vanessa11411vanessa11411 member
    My 6 year old DD has 2 baby crowns. They insisted on it because they want enough room in there for when her adult tooth grows in. She also has a retainer behind her lower teeth to keep them straight. Luckily, my insurance covered it and I figured It's less for me to spend on braces later on. I did have to pay extra for the tooth colored cover because I didn't want her having a big old silver tooth in the front.
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