Dental Restorations For Kids In Broomfield, CO

A dental restoration rebuilds a tooth that decay or an injury has damaged. On a back baby molar with a large cavity, a crown usually outlasts a filling, and the published numbers show it.

Mini Miners is a pediatric dentist for Broomfield families, in the Erie Commons shopping area about 10 minutes away via Highway 287 or the Northwest Parkway. We place mercury-free white fillings, stainless steel and white crowns, Hall crowns with no drilling and no numbing shot, baby root canals and space maintainers. For dental restorations for kids in Broomfield, each of those options has a published track record, and this page lays them side by side. Dr. Alison Grover is a board-certified pediatric dentist, and parents are always welcome in the treatment room.

How Long Each Restoration Lasts in a Baby Tooth

Most restorations outlast the baby tooth they repair. Steel crowns hold up best. White fillings fail more often, and the usual cause is a fresh cavity along the edge.

A 2018 review of 31 studies, covering 12,047 restorations in baby teeth, put stainless steel crowns at 96.1% success and white composite fillings at 79.3%. New decay at the margin caused 36.5% of all failures. The next cavity matters more than the material.

For dental restorations for kids in Broomfield, here is the published record, option by option:

Stainless steel crown: 96.1% success in that review. It stays on until the baby tooth falls out on its own.
White composite filling: 79.3% success. New decay at the edge is the usual reason one fails.
White zirconia crown: no long-term pooled figure yet, so its record is shorter than steel's.
Baby root canal plus crown: 94.6% success at 24 months for pulpotomy, in the AAPD's 2024 review of the evidence.
Space maintainer: no single success figure. Lost cement is the most common way one fails.

Filling or Crown: How the Choice Gets Made

The size and depth of the cavity decide it. Dr. Grover examines the tooth and reviews any X-rays, then explains the plan to you and your child before treatment starts.

A small cavity on 1 surface usually takes a white filling. When the damage is too large for a filling to restore safely, a crown covers the whole tooth. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's restorative guidance has long favored steel crowns over fillings for baby molars with large or multi-surface cavities, after pulp therapy, for children at high risk of new decay, and for children treated under general anesthesia.

Some decay hasn't made a hole yet. A chalky white spot on the enamel can be the first sign, and some white spots can be treated without a filling. Our white spots treatment page covers ICON resin infiltration.

Steel, White or No-Drill: Choosing the Crown

On a back baby molar, a steel crown is the standard choice, and it barely shows once your child closes their mouth. White and no-drill crowns are options too, each with a tradeoff.

Stainless steel crown

A preformed cap of stainless steel, an alloy of iron, chromium and nickel, with no mercury in it. It isn't the old silver filling, which was amalgam. The cap is cemented over the trimmed tooth and stays until the baby molar loosens on its own. Mini Miners uses NuSmile stainless steel crowns. If your child has ever reacted to nickel in earrings or a belt buckle, mention it before the visit.

White zirconia crown

Tooth-colored and metal-free. Zirconia is rigid, so it can't be crimped to fit the way steel can, and the tooth needs more trimming: a 2016 study in Pediatric Dentistry measured more tooth removal for every zirconia brand tested than for steel. The tooth also has to stay dry while the crown is cemented, which is harder with a wiggly 4-year-old. We place Sprig and NuSmile white crowns on front and back teeth.

Hall crown

A steel crown pressed over a decayed back baby molar with no drilling and no numbing shot. It seals the decay off from the sugars that feed it. Small spacers may go between the teeth beforehand. It suits a cavity that hasn't reached the nerve. A tooth that already aches, or has an abscess, needs a different plan.

The Baby Root Canal Changed in 2024

A baby root canal, or pulpotomy, removes the infected top portion of the nerve and seals what's left. At Mini Miners, a crown goes on afterward for durability, because a treated baby molar is too weak to hold a filling.

In 2024 the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry replaced its 2017 guideline. The 2024 AAPD pulp therapy guideline strongly recommends calcium silicate cements, MTA or Biodentine, over every other pulpotomy material. MTA worked in 94% of teeth at 24 months. Formocresol, the traditional medicine, worked in 86%, and the panel now recommends against it, conditionally. It recommends strongly against calcium hydroxide.

The guideline also backs a less invasive route. Indirect pulp treatment leaves a thin layer of affected tooth over the nerve, seals it, and never opens the pulp. It held at 96.7% at 24 months, against 94.6% for pulpotomy, and the panel found no significant difference between the 2. Ask at the exam which approach fits your child's tooth.

When infection has spread past what pulp treatment can reach, the tooth comes out and the space needs a plan. Our pediatric dental extractions page covers that visit.

Space Maintainers: What Goes Wrong and What to Watch For

A space maintainer holds the gap when a baby molar comes out early, so the adult tooth underneath has room to come in. It's a small appliance, and it fails in predictable ways.

A 2018 review of 20 studies and 2,265 maintainers found lost cement was the main reason the common band-and-loop design failed. Gum irritation showed up in up to 14% of cases in some of those studies. No design had strong evidence over another.

If your child says the band moves, or the gum around it looks red, call before the next checkup. Not every early tooth loss needs a maintainer. Which tooth was lost and how close the adult tooth is to coming in decide it, and an X-ray answers both.

Sedation, and the Colorado Rule Behind It

Most dental restorations for kids in Broomfield need only numbing, and some children relax with laughing gas first. Every treatment room is plumbed for nitrous oxide, so it's ready whenever a child needs it.

Mini Miners offers 3 levels. Nitrous oxide gives mild relaxation while your child stays awake. Oral conscious sedation uses medication for deeper relaxation, with an amnesic effect. In-office general anesthesia, given by an anesthesiologist, lets your child sleep through the procedure.

Colorado sets a specific rule here. Dental Board Rule 1.14 requires any dentist giving minimal, moderate or deep sedation to a child under 12 to hold a pediatric designation in addition to the anesthesia permit. Nitrous can be run by trained staff only under the dentist's direct supervision. Before any sedation visit, it's fair to ask an office which permit and designation cover the level planned.

The rest of the visit:

Parents are always welcome in the treatment room.
Your child picks from more than 70 movies on a ceiling-mounted TV, plus the toothpaste and fluoride flavors.
X-rays are taken only when Dr. Grover finds them clinically necessary, with a camera-like machine right in the treatment room, so the movie keeps playing.
Instruments are sized for children's mouths.
The team follows a "no scary words" policy, and seating can be adjusted for comfort or anxiety.
A child who needs a slower start can book a Happy Visit first, to explore the office and meet the team.
Every child visits the prize tower afterward.

What Broomfield's Numbers Say About the Next Cavity

Broomfield's water carries fluoride, and city kids in Colorado still have more untreated decay than rural kids.

The City and County of Broomfield adds fluoride in line with CDPHE and CDC recommendations, and its 2024 water quality report shows an average of 0.68 ppm. Tap water isn't the missing piece. Fluoride treatment at checkups adds more, in a flavor your child picks, and your child can eat and drink right after.

The state's 2022-23 screening of 2,773 children at 42 schools found untreated decay in 26.4% of urban third graders, against 17.0% in rural counties. Urban children also had fewer sealants: 54.6% against 74.6%. Broomfield counts as urban. CDPHE credits rural school-based prevention programs for the gap.

Decay also moves quickly through baby teeth. A study in the Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry found a cavity took about 10 months to cross the enamel and roughly 17 more to reach the inner tooth. A 6-month cleaning and exam tends to catch it while a filling still works. A skipped year can turn it into a crown.

Who Treats Your Child

Dr. Alison Grover, DDS, is a board-certified Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, which means she passed the board's written and oral exams. She earned her DDS and a general practice residency certificate at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine, then completed her pediatric dental residency at UCLA. Her degree in child psychology is from Wellesley College, and she went to Fairview High School in Boulder.

She owns Mini Miners, which opened in 2017. She's also a mom, and she volunteers on dental mission trips abroad.

Getting Here From Broomfield

Our office is at 61 Erie Pkwy, Unit 101, Erie, CO 80516, in the Erie Commons shopping area at the corner of Briggs St. and Erie Pkwy, between I-25 and Highway 287. The drive from Broomfield takes about 10 minutes via Highway 287 or the Northwest Parkway, and parking is easy. We also serve families from Louisville, Superior, Westminster, Lafayette and Northglenn.

Hours are Monday to Thursday, 8:00 to 5:00, and Friday, 8:00 to 3:30.

For a broken tooth, bleeding or a lot of pain, call (303) 500-3202. The team works to see emergency patients the same business day. After hours, existing patients call the same number and press 2 for the on-call pediatric dentist. Our emergency dental page covers what to do first.

Questions About Dental Restorations for Kids in Broomfield

How long do fillings and crowns last on baby teeth?

Most outlast the baby tooth. A 2018 review of 31 studies covering 12,047 restorations in baby teeth found stainless steel crowns succeeded 96.1% of the time and white composite fillings 79.3%. New decay at the edge caused 36.5% of failures, so regular checkups protect a restoration more than the choice of material does.

Is a stainless steel crown the same as a silver filling?

No. A silver filling is amalgam, which contains mercury. A stainless steel crown is a preformed cap made of an iron, chromium and nickel alloy, with no mercury, cemented over the whole tooth. It stays until the baby tooth loosens on its own. Mention any nickel allergy before the visit.

Does a baby tooth need a crown if it will fall out anyway?

Often, yes. A back baby molar can stay until about age 10 to 12, and it holds the space for the adult tooth underneath. If decay takes it early, neighboring teeth drift into the gap. A molar due to fall out within months may only need the decay stopped.

What is a baby root canal, and which material is best?

A baby root canal, or pulpotomy, removes the infected top of the nerve, seals the rest and is followed by a crown. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's 2024 guideline strongly recommends calcium silicate cements such as MTA or Biodentine. MTA worked in 94% of teeth at 24 months, against 86% for formocresol.

Can a cavity be stopped without drilling?

Sometimes. In a 2026 JAMA Pediatrics trial of 830 young children with severe early childhood decay, silver diamine fluoride stopped 54.0% of treated cavities at 6 months, against 22.5% with a placebo. It stains the decay black and doesn't rebuild the tooth. On a suitable back baby molar, a Hall crown also skips the drill and the shot.

How long does a restoration appointment take?

Most take 30 to 60 minutes. Simple fillings are on the shorter end, while crowns and pulp therapy take longer. Extra time is built in so your child never feels rushed.

Can I stay with my child during treatment?

Yes. Parents are always welcome in the treatment room.

What should I ask before my child is sedated?

Ask whether the dentist holds a Colorado anesthesia permit with a pediatric designation for the planned level of sedation. Colorado Dental Board Rule 1.14 requires that designation for minimal, moderate or deep sedation in any child under 12. Nitrous oxide may be run by trained staff only under a dentist's direct supervision.