Space Maintenance For Children

Ideally, your children’s teeth will have a chance to fall out naturally and to grow in on their own time. However, various situations can lead to the premature loss of teeth, such as dental trauma or tooth extraction. When this happens, space maintenance can help ensure that children’s teeth continue to grow in naturally and that there are no potential complications from the early loss of their teeth. Various space maintenance options are available, and the team at Westgate Smiles will communicate with you to determine whether this is the best choice for your child’s oral health.

Why Might My Child Need Space Maintenance For His Teeth?

Space maintenance is not needed in all instances. For example, space maintainers are typically not required if the adult tooth has already begun to grow in or when the tooth that has been lost prematurely is one of the front four teeth. However, space maintenance can be a great option for children as it can:

  • Prevent drifting of the surrounding teeth into the space left behind by the lost tooth.

  • Prevent the future need for braces.

  • Allow for orthodontic treatment while the child still has space in the teeth.

Our dentist will discuss with you whether or not space maintenance is the right option for your child. Typically, even younger children can get space maintainers so long as they can cooperate with the dentist in order to undergo the procedure needed to craft the space maintainers.

What Types Of Space Maintenance Are Available?

There are various types of space maintenance options available, and the one that our Westgate Smiles dentist chooses will depend on a number of factors, such as the number of missing teeth and the position of the spaces within the jaw. Once receiving a space maintainer, the child will need to see the dentist on a regular basis. This will help ensure that they are maintaining good enough oral hygiene to continue using it, will ensure that the teeth around the maintainer are growing in straight, and will allow the dentist to monitor for the growth of the child’s secondary teeth.