Restoring primary anterior teeth

A variety of esthetic restorative materials are available for restoring primary incisors. Knowledge of the specific strengths, weakness, and properties of each material will enhance the clinician's ability to make the best choice of selection for each individual situation. Intracoronal restorations of primary teeth may utilize resin composites, glass ionomer cements, resin-modified ionomers, or polyacid-modified resins. Each has distinct advantages and disadvantages and the clinical conditions of placement may be a strong determining factor as to which material is utilized. Full coronal restoration of primary incisors may be indicated for a number of reasons. Crowns available for restoration of primary incisors include those that are directly bonded onto the tooth, which generally are a resin material, and those crowns that are luted onto the tooth and are some type of stainless steel crown. However, due to lack of supporting clinical data, none of the crowns can be said to be superior to the others under all circumstances. Though caries in the mandibular region is rare, restorative solutions for mandibular incisors are needed. Neither stainless steel crowns nor celluloid crown forms are made specifically for mandibular incisors. Many options exist to repair carious primary incisors, but there is insufficient controlled, clinical data to suggest that one type of restoration is superior to another. This does not discount the fact that dentists have been using many of these crowns for years with much success. Operator preferences, esthetic demands by parents, the child's behavior, and moisture and hemorrhage control are all variables which affect the decision and ultimate outcome of whatever restorative treatment is chosen.