The Natural Way to Prevent Crowding
Sometimes, due to tooth decay or a traumatic injury, a child may lose a primary tooth early, before the permanent one underneath is ready to come into place. When this happens, the dentist will consider the best way to hold the space left by the baby tooth in order to maintain a clear path for the succeeding adult tooth. While not every situation where a baby tooth is lost early needs an intervention to maintain the space, many times a small dental appliance known as a space maintainer is required to make sure the permanent tooth does not become crowded out of the dental arch or impacted by shifting adjacent teeth.
Space maintainers are fixed or removable appliances that are designed to keep the integrity of the space left by the lost tooth. Simple and comfortable to wear, the type and design of your child’s space maintainer will be determined by our dentist. Once the permanent tooth begins to emerge, a space maintainer is no longer necessary.
Space Maintainers are used to prevent or manage:
Preventing adjacent teeth from drifting into the open space, which would cause the permanent tooth to become blocked or crowded.
Ensuring the permanent tooth has a clear path to erupt correctly, reducing the risk of it getting stuck (impacted).
Maintaining the necessary arch length to promote a properly aligned bite.
FAQs
If a baby tooth is lost prematurely and a space maintainer is not used, the adjacent teeth will often drift or tip into the empty space. When the permanent tooth tries to erupt, there may not be enough room, leading to crowding or the permanent tooth erupting out of position.
The type of space maintainer (fixed, meaning cemented in place, or removable) will be determined by Dr. Lopez based on which tooth was lost and your child’s specific needs. Fixed maintainers are very common and often most effective for young children.
Care is simple: maintain excellent brushing and flossing around the appliance, and avoid sticky or hard foods (like gum, caramels, or hard candies) that could dislodge or damage the maintainer.
The appliance stays in place until the permanent tooth begins to push through the gums. We will monitor the eruption at every check-up and remove the maintainer at the optimal time.