Space Maintainers Children Dental Care, Early Baby Teeth Loss

Early baby teeth loss And Space maintainer

My kid has a lot of cavities and is needing to take their teeth out earlier than they should?  The parents will then ask this type of local children's dentist question - what should we do? Many people do not know that their children have dental options if they happen to lose their teeth early. A common space maintainer question is, why do I need a space maintainer for my child?

Space Maintainers

We get many local space maintainer questions at DentalChat. What is a space maintainer and why would my child's dentist recommend this treatment?  What is space management? In this children's dental care blog, we will be asking common pediatric dentist questions and providing pediatric dentistry answers to these local dentistry questions.

How well your child maintains their dental oral health, can impact greatly how they will have to maintain their teeth as they become adults. We know by having good oral hygiene as children, can benefit kids as they become adults greatly. Of course, some kids - will have early tooth loss or early baby teeth loss due to a variety of reasons, which we will discuss.

It is good to first get a general idea of what is going on in your kid's mouth? Generally, 20 primary teeth will erupt into the mouth of an infant. There are 4 incisors, 2 canines, and 4 molars, in each dental arch. Sometimes due to genetics, there may be some alterations for some kids of course. These teeth are designed to last between 5 to 7 years in the anterior, and 9 to 12 years in the posterior. If teeth are lost before this time frame, space maintenance may be indicated.  

Dental space management question?

Space management may be indicated at any time during the development of teeth, especially from primary teeth to permanent teeth for children and young adults. Dental space management questions involve why it is important and how can space management be done?

A children's dentist question by a parent would be, when is dental space management most important? This is most important for children who lose one or more teeth much earlier than they should due to caries or some kind of accident. Maintaining the right occlusion to achieve an optimal result, can help children as they become young adults with permanent teeth.

Common space maintainers And Dental Spacer Appliance 

For local pediatric dentists, a space maintainer is a fairly common appliance for children who have many caries and large cavities - resulting in one or more tooth loss. Many parents are looking for space maintainer answers as to what to expect and what is? We get asked many local space maintainer questions online. A common space maintainer's question is, what is a space maintainer? Why does my child need a spacer or space maintainer?  These are custom-fabricated dental appliances that are cemented in place when early primary tooth loss occurs.  Their purpose is to maintain the integrity of the dental arch. Or said plainly, they are to keep the remaining primary teeth in their original position. Adjacent primary teeth will tend to shift after early tooth loss.

If any of the 4 mandibular incisors, or lower teeth in the front, are lost early, there is absolutely no indication in the literature to provide any kind of space maintenance. These teeth are not visualized well in social interaction. They are very rarely replaced for aesthetic reasons. It is not necessary to provide any space maintenance for the loss of a lower incisor(s) early.

Likewise, if any of the four maxillary incisors are lost early, there is no space maintenance necessary to prevent the shifting of teeth or the midline. Pedo partials can be made if teeth have to be extracted or teeth are lost to trauma. These partials are not necessary for space maintenance, do not aid in speech, and are only done for aesthetics. They also do not aid in eating.  When a child smiles, the top teeth are readily seen.  The only reason to replace these teeth with a pedo partial would be esthetics to aid in social interaction.

If a lower or upper primary canine is lost early due to dental disease or trauma, it requires management by the dentist to ensure that the midline does not deviate as other teeth erupt into the arch. Often, a space maintainer will be necessary. The space maintainers can be one-sided or extend to both sides of the dental arch. The decision about which type of space maintainer to use if a canine is lost early goes beyond the depth of this article. But, a parent should be well informed that early primary canine loss will require intervention in almost all cases.

Primary Molars 

Common primary molar questions online have to do with the size and longevity of primary molar teeth. The primary molars are the two large teeth in the back of the mouth of a child. The first molar is much smaller, and the second molar is both larger and much more substantial. The second molar is designed to last for a longer amount of time.

These primary molars are much longer when measured from front to back than the two adult premolars which form underneath them in the jaw bone. Management of this discrepancy in size between primary molars and adult premolars that will replace them is often used by pediatric dentists and orthodontists to alleviate anterior crowding.  Management of this space can eliminate the need for dental extractions to make room for all of the teeth.

Band and Loop Dental Appliance And Unilateral Spacer Children Dental Care 

A common primary molar tooth question is, what happens if my kid’s primary tooth molar comes out early? What is a Band and Loop child dental appliance? Most parents ask a Unilateral Spacer Question such as, what is a spacer? What is a unilateral spacer? If a molar is lost early, it will usually require space maintenance. If this occurs before the adult 6-year permanent molar erupts behind the second primary molar, it will most likely be done on one side only. This dental appliance is called a band and loop appliance or unilateral spacer.  

If this occurs after the eruption of the 6-year molars behind the second primary molar, it will likely be done with an appliance that connects the molars from one side of the mouth to the other.  This is called a lower lingual holding arch on the bottom. It is called a trans-palatal arch on the top. If these terms are searched on the internet, images can be easily found.

If any adult teeth ever have to be extracted, space issues must also be considered. There is a natural tendency for teeth to drift and tip into the spaces. Adult implants, crowns, and bridges are drastically affected if tipping and drift occur.  This will also lead to increased complexity of treatment and cost.

Using Pediatric Dentistry Virtual Dental Care 

Like telemedicine, virtual dental care is growing online. Parents can use children's tel dental services to answer local pediatric dental questions with parents and to get virtual dentistry online - Local Pediatric Dentists Live On-Demand Dental Care. Local Dentists can add Live Local Dental ChatBot to their website - to start chatting with their dental patients in real time.

Sometimes the adult first molars, or 6-year molars, do not form well. When they erupt they can have very large hypoplastic defects. Often these formation defects are symmetric.  Because the outside layer does not form well, large dental cavities can develop quickly after eruption. 

This problem can be managed by extraction of the 6-year molars before there is root development of the 12-year molar buds in the jaw bone.  This is a way dentists can take advantage of the natural drift of teeth after tooth loss.  The tooth bud of the 12-year molar will drift into the space of the 6-year molar. This only works if the 12-year molar bud in the bone is unerupted and has no root formation at the time of the extraction of the 6-year molar.  There are a few other circumstances where teeth are allowed to drift during the development of the occlusion to reach specific tooth alignment goals.

Early Tooth Loss Question or Primary Tooth Loss Questions we get asked why did my kid have early tooth loss

Early tooth loss can occur due to dental disease, genetics, or dental trauma. This tooth loss should be managed by pediatric dentists and orthodontists as they have the appropriate skill set to aid in the development of the desired occlusion. Frequently, unilateral or bilateral spacers will be necessary. These devices prevent drifting and tipping of the remaining teeth. Spacers can save thousands of dollars and reduce future time in orthodontics.  If intervention and management are done properly, they can even reduce or eliminate the need for full orthodontics.

A child that loses teeth early due to dental caries is at high risk for future dental disease. Space maintainers must be planned methodically as well as future hygiene interventions. These appliances make it more difficult to keep the teeth clean and prevent new dental caries.  Managing early tooth loss will likely be done by your dentist and orthodontist working together to achieve the optimal outcome.

Ask Children Dental Care Questions and Get Dental Children Dentist Answers with us at DentalChat. Ask Dentist Care Questions Online at DentalChat.com.  Local Dentists can ADD BEST DENTIST CHATBOT to their local dentist website.

Pediatric Dental Care 

There are many great early baby tooth loss appliances for children. Early Baby Teeth Loss does happen for some children. We discussed what to do when a child loses their primary molar earlier than they should. Local Space Maintainers Blogging, Local Pediatric Dentistry Blog, Space Maintainer Information Chatting Online, Best Kid Dentistry Answers, and Pediatric Dentist Care Discussion Online for early tooth loss.

Dentists Live On-Demand Dental Care. Local Dentists can add Live Local Dental ChatBot to their website - to start chatting with their dental patients in real time.