Bonding Buttons and Attachments to Crowns: What You Should Know

If you’ve been taking on Invisalign or clear aligner cases, knowing how to tackle cases with crowns is hugely important. In line with this, today’s brief guide outlines the core things you need to know to help with this.

Should You Bond Buttons and Attachments to Crowns?

If you’ve got a patient with crowns, it’s first important to clarify whether you should even consider bonding buttons and attachments to the crown. Well, for simple cases (e.g., mild to moderate crowding or Class I), you may just be able to bypass the tooth by blocking off buttons or attachments. This is because attachments may be less needed in easier cases. However, for more severe cases (e.g., extreme crowding), you may need a button or attachment.

If you’re not sure, you’ll likely want to run this by an experienced orthodontist first. Luckily, our experts here at Straight Smile Solutions can help with this, so if you need a one-to-one consultation to help with your decision, contact us today and we’d be thrilled to help!

What to Do When You Need a Button or Attachment on a Crown Tooth

If you have a patient who has a severe case and has crown over a tooth, you’ll need to consider the crown material. Crowns are usually made from porcelain, gold, or stainless steel. If the patient has a stainless steel crown, these are usually temporary, so it’s usually best not to do ortho in these cases.

If the patient has a gold crown, you may need to fit a fitted band over the gold. However, you can’t bond or glue a button to metal, so that option’s out (unless you drill a hole in the gold crown).

Finally, for porcelain crowns, you may be able to bond, depending on the type of porcelain. Usually, new porcelain crowns that are shiny won’t bond buttons well, so you may need to drill a hole in the crown to bond. You can also get dedicated porcelain bonding kits.

Always get a written disclaimer before doing the treatment plan so the patient is aware that the crowns may need to be damaged if bonding doesn’t work. Otherwise, you may be liable for the cost of new crowns after ortho finishes.