A crown is a restoration that covers a tooth in order to strengthen it as well to restore it to its normal shape and size.  A crown may be placed to support a large filling when there is little remaining tooth structure.  A tooth that has been treated with pulp therapy will require a crown to provide strength and support to the tooth. Stainless steel and zirconia crowns are indicated when the size, shape and depth of decay exceeds ideal and a tooth colored filling material is no longer indicated. Crowns restore badly broken down teeth and primary molars that have undergone nerve treatments.  Crowns protect the teeth from further damage, and restores the tooth to a more ideal contour and position in the mouth. After all of the decay has been removed, crowns are cemented with dental cement. The primary tooth that has a crown will be shed  normally at the appropriate time. In high caries-risk children, definitive treatment of primary teeth with SSCs is better over time than multisurface intra-coronal restorations.

Any crowns in the front will either be white zirconia or a strip crown. Crowns for back teeth are most often stainless steel. However, white zirconia crowns are also an option.