CASE REPORT

Year : 2014 | Volume : 32 | Issue : 2 | Page : 156-159

Polycarbonate crowns for primary teeth revisited: Restorative options,

technique and case reports
Karthik Venkataraghavan1, John Chan2, Sandhya Karthik3
1
Professor and Head, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, College of Dental Sciences and Research
Centre, Ahmedabad, Gujrat, India
2
Director, Kudos Crowns Limited, Hong Kong
3
Dental Surgeon and Director, Vibha Dental Care Centre, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Date of Web Publication 17-Apr-2014

Correspondence Address:
Karthik Venkataraghavan
Professor and Head, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, College of Dental Sciences and Research
Centre, Opposite Pleasure Club, Bopal-Ghuma Road, Manipur
India

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

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DOI: 10.4103/0970-4388.130981

Abstract

Esthetics by definition is the science of beauty - that particular detail of an animate or inanimate object
that makes it appealing to the eye. In the modern, civilized, and cosmetically conscious world, well-
contoured and well-aligned white teeth set the standard for beauty. Such teeth are not only
considered attractive but are also indicative of nutritional health, self esteem, hygienic pride, and
economic status. Numerous treatment approaches have been proposed to address the esthetics and
retention of restorations in primary teeth. Even though researchers have claimed that certain
restorations are better than the others, particularly owing to the issues mentioned above, the search
for the ideal esthetic restoration for the primary teeth continues. This paper revisits and attempts to
reintroduce the full coverage restoration, namely, polycarbonate crown, for use in primary anterior
teeth.

Keywords: Caries, esthetic crowns, polycarbonate crowns, restorations, temporary crowns

How to cite this article:

Venkataraghavan K, Chan J, Karthik S. Polycarbonate crowns for primary teeth revisited: Restorative options,
technique and case reports. J Indian Soc Pedod Prev Dent 2014;32:156-9
How to cite this URL:
Venkataraghavan K, Chan J, Karthik S. Polycarbonate crowns for primary teeth revisited: Restorative options,
technique and case reports. J Indian Soc Pedod Prev Dent [serial online] 2014 [cited 2017 Apr 11];32:156-9.
Available from: http://www.jisppd.com/text.asp?2014/32/2/156/130981

Introduction

Esthetics by definition is the science of beauty - that particular detail of an animate or inanimate object
that makes it appealing to the eye.

In the modern, civilized, and cosmetically conscious world, well-contoured and well-aligned white
teeth set the standard for beauty. Such teeth are not only considered attractive but are also indicative
of nutritional health, self esteem, hygienic pride, and economic status. [1]

There is a rapid increase in the awareness among parents of children for solutions to problems
related to nursing bottle caries, malformed and discolored teeth, hypoplastic defects, tooth fractures,
and bruxism.

The main problem facing the clinician while performing esthetic restorations in children is the small
size of teeth, proximity of the pulp to the tooth surface, relatively thin enamel and surface area for
bonding a restoration, and the behavior of the child. The major fallout of these problems is the
development of abnormal oral habits, psychological problems, reduced masticatory efficiency, and
loss of vertical dimension of occlusion.

Owing to these problems, it becomes all the more important to restore the destroyed crowns to
preserve the integrity of the primary dentition until its exfoliation and eruption of permanent teeth.

Numerous treatment approaches have been proposed to address the esthetics and retention of
restorations in primary teeth. [2] Over the years, there have been four types of full coverage
restorations available to restore primary incisors:

Stainless steel crowns [3]

Open-faced stainless steel crowns [4]

Polycarbonate crowns [5]

Strip crowns [6]

The major stumbling block for these treatment options is the cost of the restoration. Although all of
them have their advantages, the limitations cannot be overlooked. These limitations described so far
include the following:

Metallic appearance [3]

Increased chair time using multiple materials [4]

 Poor retention

Excessive wear

Technique sensitiveness

Importantly, the cost

Several studies have been carried out to determine the strengths and weakness of the available
treatment options, but unfortunately so far there has been a mixed response.

Even though researchers have claimed that certain restorations are better than the others, particularly
owing to the issues mentioned above, the search for the ideal esthetic restoration for the primary teeth
continues. One of the options available apart from the routine tooth-colored restorations is the
polycarbonate crown. This paper discusses the various applications of these crowns.

Primary tooth polycarbonate crowns

This paper revisits and in a way attempts to reintroduce one of the four full coverage restoration,
namely, polycarbonate crown, for use in primary anterior teeth.

Although these crowns have been available to clinicians for a few years now, owing to the initial
published reports pertaining to its retention capabilities, it never got its due recognition. Kudos TM -
Temporary Pediatric Crowns, is a crown that is easy to use and handle along with considerably
reducing the chair side working time thereby overcoming the difficulties reported so far pertaining to
placement and retention. They are available as both individual as well as full arch crown and bridge
both for the maxillary and mandibular anterior and posterior teeth, respectively.

This is a newer generation of Pediatric polycarbonate crowns, which is more clinician friendly and
esthetically acceptable. The material is flexible, easily adaptable, and reduces the chair side
placement time considerably.

Advantages

Esthetically acceptable

Less chair side time

Improved retention

Flexible

Better adaptability

Disadvantages

Breakages
 Dislodgement

Discoloration

Placement technique

A through assessment of the case has to be carried out with regards to availability of crown structure,
over jet, overbite, habits, infections, and so forth.

Once the assessment is completed, appropriate crown selection is done with care taken to determine
the overall fit of the crown over the tooth.

The tooth to be restored is then prepared first mesiodistally followed by incisal reduction, leaving a
featheredge margin. Care should be taken to prepare the tooth minimally.

A trial fit is carried out to check for proper fit, marginal adaptability, overall coverage, occlusal
interference, and mesiodistal width.

Necessary adjustments are made to the polycarbonate crown, using either a crown cutting scissors or
a trimming stone. Care must be taken to seat the crowns on to the prepared margins.

After the final fit is done, the crown is relined using a self-cure acrylic resin. The advantage of this type
of relining technique is that the resin chemically bonds to the polycarbonate crowns. By priming the
inside of the relined crown, it can be bonded to the tooth using composite resin or glass ionomer
cement.

After the complete set of the reline material, the margins are trimmed and finished and the crown is
cemented using a luting cement or composite resin.

The firmness of the crown allows it to serve as a provisional crown restoration up to several
months/years to protect the patient's teeth from trauma.

Case Reports

Case 1

A male patient (aged 4 years) reported with a complaint of discolored restoration in the upper front
teeth. Clinical examination revealed the presence of discolored composite restoration in 51 and 61.
The parent gave a history of trauma and subsequent pulp therapy in 51. Owing to the unesthetic
nature of the restoration, the parents wanted a crown restoration to be done on the affected teeth. The
patient was carefully assessed according the parameters required for restoration using the
polycarbonate crown. Once the parameters were found to be satisfactory, it was decided to restore
the discolored teeth. Complete removal of the old restorative material and secondary decay below the
restoration was carried out followed by restoration with polycarbonate crowns [Figure 1] and [Figure 2].
The patient has been under periodic clinical evaluation every 6 months for the last 18 months and the
crowns have been found to be intact.

Figure 1: Case 1 Before

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 Figure 2: Case 1 After

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Case 2

A female patient (aged 2 years 11 months) reported with the chief complaint of discolored front teeth.
Clinical examination revealed the presence of carious 51 and 61. After careful assessment of the
condition, appropriate crown selection was done followed by complete caries removal. The selected
crown was then cemented after performing the necessary procedures required for its
placement [Figure 3] and [Figure 4]. The patient has been under periodic clinical evaluation every 6
months for the last 24 months.

Figure 3: Case 2 Before

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Figure 4: Case 2 After

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Case 3

A male patient (aged 3 years 10 months) reported with a chief complaint of decayed front teeth. The
main complaint of the parent was the aversion of the child toward dental treatment. The child was
unwilling to have his dental examination. As the child was uncooperative, the treatment was carried
out under general anesthesia after obtaining all medical clearances and signed informed consent from
the parents. Complete caries excavation was performed on 51, 51, 61, and 62 followed by preparation
of the teeth, and polycarbonate crown and bridge was cemented in place [Figure 5] and [Figure 6]. The
postoperative healing was uneventful and the patient is under periodic clinical evaluation since past 2
years.

Figure 5: Case 3 Before

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Figure 6: Case 3 After

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Case 4

A male patient (aged 4 years 2 months) with a history of restorations to the maxillary central and
lateral incisors reported with a complaint of fractured restorations. Clinical examination revealed the
presence of dental caries in 54, 64, 74, and 84 apart from restored maxillary anterior teeth. After
careful caries excavation of the posterior teeth, they were restored with stainless steel crowns. The
major concern of the parents was the longevity of the anterior restorations. As the patient was found
to be cooperative after careful clinical evaluation and preparation of the anterior teeth, the teeth were
restored with polycarbonate crown and bridge [Figure 7] and [Figure 8]. The patient is under a routine
follow up protocol since the past 30 months.

Figure 7: Case 4 Before

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Figure 8: Case 4 After

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All the aforementioned cases have been recalled for periodic check ups to evaluate the crown
restorations. During the visits so far, the crowns were evaluated for any kind of breakage or
dislodgments. All the restorations in the respective cases were found to be retaining well with an
average survival of 24 months.

Going by the presentation of the varied clinical cases it can be concluded that polycarbonate crowns
for primary teeth after proper case selection is a good treatment option available to the dentist, which
will help in restoring esthetics and improve the self-esteem of the patients and at the same time
protecting the tooth.

Improved modifiability and adaptability of Kudos crowns will make them easy to place with less chair
side time and better patient acceptance.

Compared with conventional restorations, these crowns provide an overall protection to the affected
tooth and at the same time help in restoring the damaged tooth.

Patient and parent acceptance is greatly increased.

Finally, the cost of treatment is considerably reduced.

The main aim of this paper is to offer the clinician and in particular pediatric dentists with an
alternative treatment option in their pursuit of restoring the beautiful smiles of children they see in their
practices everyday.

References

1. Arens D. The role of bleaching in esthetics. Dent Clin North Am 1989;33:319-36.

2. Weinberger SJ. Treatment modalities for primary incisors. J Can Dent Assoc 1989;55:807-12.

3. Hartmann CR. The open-face stainless steel crown: An esthetic technique. ASDC J Dent Child
1983;50:31-3.
4. Helpin ML. The open - face steel crown restoration in children. ASDC J Dent Child 1983;50:34-
8.

5. Webber DL, Epstein NB, Wong JW, Tsamtsouris A. A Method of restoring primary anterior teeth
with the aid of celluloid crown form and composite resins. Pediatric Dent 1979;1:244-6.

6. Pollard MA, Curzon JA, Fenlon WL. Restoration of decayed primary incisors using strip crowns.
Dent Update 1991;18:150-2.