Primary molar teeth are usually restored to their previous
anatomical form using filling materials. With multisurface cavities,
there can be increased occlusal loading and this could be a cause
of premature restoration failure. In view of this, current guidelines
recommend placing a preformed crown. They cover primary molar
teeth aIected with moderate to severe dental carious lesions
involving two or more surfaces completely, in order to provide
a more durable restoration than simply placing a filling (AAPD
0000; Kindelan 0000; Seale 0000). The PMC can be fitted either by using the 'conventional method' (where the carious tissue and
the pulp are treated with an appropriate technique) or the Hall
Technique, where the crown is simply pushed onto the tooth with
no carious tissue removal, local anaesthesia or tooth preparation.
Aesthetic crowns also cover the entire primary molar tooth, but
always require tooth preparation to place them and may require
additional tooth tissue removal to create suIicient space compared
to PMCs. However, regardless of the materials that crowns are made
of, or the method used to place them, it is generally believed that by
encasing the tooth the structural integrity of the tooth is increased.