Are Space Maintainers Essential for Kids?

Most children develop their first set of baby teeth by age three. The teeth, such as helping children to eat solid foods, also perform a crucial role of serving as placeholders for their permanent teeth when they emerge.

Unfortunately, children can lose their baby teeth to affect the emergence of their permanent teeth. Loss of baby teeth early can make it necessary for children to have a space maintainer function as a space holder for the permanent teeth to emerge without complications.

What is a dental space maintainer?

Space maintainers are orthodontic tools that help improve the future oral health of your child by assisting their permanent teeth in developing and correctly. Space maintainers are tiny and appear similar to adult bridges. However, space maintainers are designed to preserve space between teeth when a primary tooth falls out earlier than expected instead of replacing missing teeth. Metals help make custom-fit space maintainers explicitly for your child’s mouth.

Space maintainers help keep children’s teeth correctly aligned, allowing their permanent teeth to erupt and develop usually. In addition, the devices ensure your child’s permanent teeth don’t even incorrectly give them an abnormal bite, improper function, or an ungainly appearance. Therefore they help avoid expensive and extensive dental treatments later.

Why May Your Child Need a Space Maintainer?

Not all children require space maintainers for every primary tooth that falls out. However, space maintainers become essential in situations where your child loses a primary tooth before the emergence of its permanent replacement. Tooth loss in children can result from tooth decay, injuries, and, occasionally, natural.

Premature loss of baby teeth before their replacement is ready to emerge can result in your child’s teeth shifting toward the newly vacant space. The shifting of teeth leaves insufficient space for the permanent tooth to appear correctly. The lack of space in the jaw results in overcrowding, bite problems, and teeth impaction. Therefore you find it comfortable to get your child a space maintainer to ensure sufficient spaces are vacant in their mouth for the emergence of their permanent tooth. If you neglect to get a space maintainer, you might have to spend considerable sums later to make space for the permanent teeth.

How Long Does a Space Maintainer Last?

Generally, baby teeth remain in place until it is pushed by the permanent teeth beneath them to fall off. Unfortunately, if children lose baby teeth early and receive space maintainers in New York, NY, the appliance they receive is similar to an orthodontic fitted on their teeth to help keep them correctly aligned. As mentioned earlier, the device is custom created explicitly for your child and is a removable appliance discarded after the emergence of the permanent tooth. Therefore, you can expect the space maintainer to remain in your child’s mouth until their permanent adult teeth emerge.

Different Kinds of Space Maintainers

If your child loses baby teeth early, the pediatric dentist near you will recommend a device suitable for their mouth after examining them. Pediatric dentists offer three kinds of space maintainers which are fixed unilateral, fixed bilateral, and removable partials.

Fixed unilateral space maintainers help hold space on one side of the mouth. Some familiar appliances include the band, loop, and distal shoe maintainer. These appliances are glued in place.

Fixed bilateral appliances are helpful to hold space in the mouth if your child loses baby teeth on both sides of their jaw. Familiar categories for fixed bilateral appliances include the transpalatal arch, lingual holding arch, and Nance arch for the upper dental arch.

Your child may also receive removable partial dentures to function as space maintainers if they lose baby teeth prematurely. Partial dentures resemble the lingual arch with teeth attached to them. Your child can consider replacing the partial denture with dental implants when they move into adulthood or continue using the removable denture for as long as they are suitable.

The pediatric dentist 10075 suggests space maintainers for children after taking x-rays to evaluate the development of the child’s permanent teeth from beneath the gum line. The dentist can help you determine whether your child will benefit from space maintainers or might need them to ensure the proper growth of their permanent teeth.

If your child is dealing with the problem of losing permanent teeth prematurely, Smile Up NYC can help them with space maintainers to hold the place for the permanent teeth to emerge. Kindly consult them with your child to determine whether they need these appliances temporarily to ensure the proper development of their permanent teeth.