Primary Zirconia Crown Restorations for Children with Early Childhood Caries

Objective: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a particularly destructive form of tooth decay that affects preschool children. It usually involves a distinctive pattern of caries which severely degrades the primary maxillary incisors of infants and very young children. Primary maxillary anterior teeth dominate the physical appearance, and their structural loss affects not only esthetics but also leads to compromised mastication, and difficulty in social and psychological adjustment of the child. A variety of esthetic restorative materials are available for restoring primary incisors. Ready-made primary Zirconia Crowns (ZIRKIZ, HASS Corp; Korea) are now available for restoration of primary incisors including those that are directly bonded onto the tooth. ZIRKIZ Crowns are esthetically pleasing, stronger than dentin/enamel and offer some advantages such as natural appearance, biocompatibility and are minimally invasive. This case report describes the clinical application of primary incisors restoration with esthetic ready-made primary zirconia crowns. After clinical and radiographic evaluations; caries was removed and tooth preparation was completed. Ready-made zirconia crown was measured and placed. Improvements in the patient's psychological behavior and improved eating habits were observed. At the one and half year recall, all esthetic crowns were intact, without periodontal problems. ECC with excessive tooth structure loss can be successfully restored by zirconia crowns. The technique presented here can be added as a treatment option to restore primary incisors for pediatric dentists.