If a child loses a tooth quickly or pulls (primary) teeth due to a dental defect, space maintainers may be needed. If so, you should be aware of the benefits of using a space maintainer and how it can improve your child’s oral health.
A space maintainer is an acrylic or metal device customized by a dentist or orthodontist. It can either be removed or put in a teenager’s mouth. Its job is to keep the space empty, so permanent teeth can come out and settle in them. Baby teeth are essential for the development of teeth, jawbones, and muscles, and they also help establish a permanent tooth in the baby’s teeth. If space is not maintained, teeth can move into the open, requiring orthodontic therapy. Space Maintainer is not needed for every child who loses a child’s tooth due to haste or tooth decay. However, you should consult your dentist or orthodontist professionally to determine if a space maintainer is needed.
A variety of factors can cause the need for a space maintainer.
- Baby tooth infection or abscess that needs to be removed.
- Loss of teeth due to trauma or injury.
- Deficiency is due to primary or permanent dental genetics.
What Are the Advantages of a Space Maintainer?
There are some advantages of space maintainer which Pediatric Dentist Indianapolis IN gives.
Protects Your Baby’s Oral Health
Your baby’s growing smile depends on his baby’s teeth. Although they will eventually fall out, you should make sure that they do so naturally and without the need for tooth extraction. Primary teeth are used as a temporary replacement for permanent teeth. If the tooth erupts prematurely, the baby’s teeth may move, or the permanent teeth may come out at the wrong angle. These orthodontic problems can endanger the health of your child’s teeth. Gum disease and degeneration, for example, may require substantial treatment later in life. In the long run, having a space maintainer can save you and your baby money and disturbance.
Provides Flexibility
If your child’s tooth is missing, the dentist can give you a choice of place care providers. You can choose space maintainers based on your tastes, budget, and requirements.
Easy to Clean and Maintain
Space maintainers are easy to clean because they only need brushing and flushing twice a day. A removable space maintainer should wear at least 14 hours daily for effective results. To avoid getting caught in these space maintainers, they can be carefully washed and cleaned regularly. Your child should avoid chewing, sticky and hard foods as they can damage the dental instrument.
What Are the Different Types of Space Keepers?
A space maintainer designed to help your teen develop the best cutting possible. Fixed or detachable space maintainers are available.
Fixed Appliances
A fixed space maintainer is a dental device attached to a neighboring tooth. Fixed space maintainers come in different styles. One has a band to hold the space, while the other has a loop tied to a stainless-steel crown. Unlike segregated devices, fixed appliances are usually chosen by young children because they are challenging to deal with in a panic, loss, or misplacement.
Removable Appliances
A removable space maintainer may include dentures, which can be very helpful in missing teeth. However, these devices are usually reserved for older children who can wear the machine and take care of it.
Is Space Maintainer Hurt?
It may take some time for your teenager to become accustomed to the space maintainer. After putting it in your child’s mouth, the dentist will show you how to clean the space maintainer. Your child’s dentist will also tell you what foods they can eat.
Distal Shoe
An unerupted first permanent molar tooth is frequently treated with a distal shoe space maintainer. Because the metal end is commonly pushed into the gum line to protect the open space from closing, it is a more sophisticated space maintainer. A dentist will need to monitor its development to ensure that the emerging permanent molar may erupt correctly with this space maintainer.
To keep space available for one tooth, unilateral and crown and loop space maintainers are implanted on one side of the mouth. The unilateral space maintainer is a metal loop that wraps around the outside of the tooth and retains the space in place. The crown and loop are natural crowns covering the tooth and connecting to the loop to provide room for the emerging teeth.
Wearing the Space Maintainer
It may take a few days for the youngster to become used to wearing the space maintainer once it is produced by the dentist or orthodontist, whether it is removable or fixed. The dentist should go through how to clean the space maintainer properly with the kid and parent to keep the gum tissue healthy and free of dental plaque. In addition, proper teeth brushing and flossing education should be addressed for better oral hygiene.
The lingual space maintainer usually is bilateral, and it is cemented to molar teeth and attached to the lower front teeth by a wire on the inside. This is generally done when more than one tooth is lost.
Congenital illnesses may cause youngsters to lose teeth, necessitating a partial denture rather than a gap maintainer. It’s crucial to consult with your dentist to see whether this is a viable choice.
If the space maintainer is fixed, chewy and sweet foods and gum or candy should be avoided since they may loosen or become trapped on the device. Space maintainers are essential for your child’s dental health since they prevent various problems. This is because your child’s permanent teeth are directly influenced by their primary teeth, and if the primary teeth are lost too soon, the permanent teeth are more likely to be harmed. Some of the following difficulties may occur, which are described by Kids Dentist Indianapolis IN:
- Insufficient room for permanent teeth to emerge
- A higher chance of teeth getting impacted or erupting incorrectly
- Permanent teeth that are crowded, overlapping, or curved
- Speech impairments are a kind of speech obstacle that occurs when
- Occlusion (malocclusion) (misaligned bite)
- A greater need for orthodontic treatment in the future
The child should see the dentist or orthodontist regularly to check therapy progress with the space maintainer and obtain a six-month professional cleaning from your dental expert.
