Silver Caps vs White Crowns for Baby Teeth

Silver caps are stainless steel crowns, used mainly on back baby molars where strength matters more than appearance; white crowns are tooth-coloured and used mainly on front baby teeth where appearance matters more. Both are legitimate options and both are designed to stay in place until the baby tooth falls out naturally. The choice usually comes down to which tooth is involved, how much of it is left, and how the child copes with a longer appointment.

If a crown has been recommended for your child and you would like the options explained again without pressure, that is a normal thing to ask for.
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What is a silver cap?

A silver cap is a pre-formed stainless steel crown that fits over the whole baby tooth. It is trimmed and crimped to the individual tooth and cemented in place, usually in a single appointment.

Because it covers the entire tooth rather than filling one part of it, it does not rely on the remaining tooth structure to hold on the way a large filling does. That is the reason it is chosen for heavily decayed molars, and why it typically stays put until the tooth is shed. There is more detail on how stainless steel crowns are placed, and on how long they usually last.

What are white crowns for baby teeth?

Tooth-coloured crowns for children come in two broad forms.

Composite strip crowns

A clear plastic former is filled with tooth-coloured composite, seated over the prepared tooth, cured and peeled away. The result is a composite crown shaped like the original tooth. These are used mostly on front baby teeth.

They look good and they are more sensitive to technique than a steel crown — the tooth has to be kept dry during placement, which is not always achievable with a small or unsettled child, and the material is more prone to chipping under heavy bite forces.

Zirconia crowns

Pre-formed white ceramic crowns, considerably stronger than composite. They are rigid rather than crimpable, so they need more tooth reduction to seat properly, and they require good moisture control and a longer, stiller appointment.

How do the two compare?

• Appearance. White crowns match the surrounding teeth; a steel crown is obviously metal. On a back molar it is rarely visible when a child talks or smiles. On a front tooth it is.
• Durability. Stainless steel is forgiving. It bends slightly rather than fracturing, tolerates an imperfect fit, and copes well with grinding. Composite is the most likely of the three to chip; zirconia is strong but brittle if the bite is heavy.
• Tooth reduction. A steel crown needs the least tooth removed. Zirconia needs the most.
• Time in the chair. A steel crown is usually the quickest to place. That matters more than it sounds for a young child, and it is often the deciding factor.
• Moisture control. Steel crowns tolerate a damp field better than composite or zirconia, which both need the tooth genuinely dry.

Neither option is a compromise version of the other. A steel crown on a lower second molar and a composite crown on an upper incisor are both the appropriate choice for their situation.

Not sure which tooth is involved or why one option was suggested? Ask — no question is a bad question.
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Which teeth is each usually used on?

As a general pattern: back baby molars get stainless steel, front baby teeth get a tooth-coloured option.

Back molars carry the chewing load, are hidden from view, and often need to survive for years — second baby molars are usually not shed until around age eleven or twelve. Strength and predictability are what count there.

Front baby teeth are visible, take much less force, and are shed earlier, around ages six to eight. Appearance carries more weight, and children are often more aware of how their front teeth look than adults assume.

What do they cost at Berala Dental?

A stainless steel crown is $250. Where the decay has reached the nerve and a pulpotomy is needed first, the pulpotomy and crown together are $550 in total.

For eligible children, crowns and pulpotomies are covered under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule and are bulk-billed, meaning no out-of-pocket cost for those items. You can check eligibility with our CDBS checker.

Where the CDBS does not apply, the figures above assume your health fund contributes nothing — a fund with children's general cover may pay part of it. A written quote is always provided before treatment starts.

Berala Dental places stainless steel crowns. Where a tooth-coloured crown is the more appropriate choice for a particular tooth, the clinician will discuss what is available and refer where that is the better path for your child.

Quick answers

Why not just fill the tooth instead?

Sometimes a filling is the right answer, and it is used where enough sound tooth remains. Where decay has taken a large portion of a baby molar, a filling has little to hold onto, and baby teeth are smaller and softer than adult teeth. A crown covers the whole tooth instead of relying on what is left.

Do silver caps hurt to have fitted?

The tooth is numbed first, so the procedure itself is generally comfortable. Happy gas is available at $120 for children who find dental treatment difficult. Some tenderness in the gum around a new crown for a day or two is normal.

Does the crown come out when the tooth falls out?

Yes. The baby tooth root resorbs underneath as normal and the tooth comes out with the crown still attached. No separate procedure is needed to remove it.

Will a white crown look natural?

Generally yes on a front tooth, which is the main reason it is chosen there. It is not identical to a natural tooth on close inspection, and it is more likely than steel to chip over time.

Talking it through

Parents are entitled to understand why one option has been suggested over another, and to have it explained without pressure. General information on baby teeth is published by healthdirect.

Berala Dental sees children every day, and a first appointment is never treatment.
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You can also read about children's dental services, the difference between a pulpotomy and a root canal, or what actually happens when a baby tooth is lost early.

Written and reviewed by Humzah Aly, Oral Health Therapist. This article is general information only and is not a substitute for personalised dental advice. Please see a dental practitioner to discuss what is right for you.