Space Maintainers In Greenpoint

If your child loses a baby tooth before they’re supposed to, this could cause some serious oral health complications. Luckily, Dr. Jones and Dr. John are here to help with space maintainers. Contact us now to get the expert dental care your child needs in Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and Bushwick.

What Are Space Maintainers?

A space maintainer is a small piece of metal or plastic that’s placed in the gap where your child has lost a baby tooth. As the name implies, its purpose is not to replace this tooth, but to keep the other teeth in the right place and ensure your child’s adult tooth comes in properly.

This is because, when your child loses a baby tooth early, the adjacent teeth may shift toward the socket where the missing tooth used to be. This can ruin their bite alignment and cause issues when it’s time for their adult tooth to erupt.

In turn, this can lead to a need for expensive and uncomfortable orthodontic treatments. But with a space maintainer, you may be able to avoid these issues entirely, and make sure your child’s adult teeth erupt without issues, even after premature baby tooth loss.

Do I Always Need a Space Maintainer If My Child Loses a Tooth?

No! Most of the time, kids lose their baby teeth naturally as their adult teeth begin to emerge and the roots of their baby teeth deteriorate.

Your child will likely start to lose their baby teeth starting around the age of 6. Kids lose their baby teeth in the same order they grew in, so your child will lose their front teeth first. Their molars will be last, and usually fall out between the ages of 9-12.

If your child’s tooth loosens and falls out naturally, it will be replaced with an adult tooth right away, so there won’t be an issue. Space maintainers are only needed when a child’s baby tooth is knocked out early.

For example, if your 6-year-old slips and falls and knocks out a premolar, this is a problem. Their adult tooth may not grow in until they’re 9-10 years old. In this case, a space maintainer is likely required to ensure proper oral development. 

So as a rule, you probably don’t need to worry about getting your child a space maintainer unless one of your child’s baby teeth is damaged, loosened, or knocked out by dental trauma, or needs to be extracted due to extensive decay.

What Can I Expect From the Space Maintainer Treatment Process?

The treatment is fast, simple, and totally non-invasive. You’ll just come to Greenpoint Pediatric Dentistry, and Dr. John will examine your little one’s mouth to make sure a space maintainer is the best option for their treatment.

If your child does need a space maintainer, the process can begin immediately. There are a lot of different designs, but the simplest type of space maintainer consists of a band of metal that’s put around a tooth next to the gap in your child’s smile. This band is attached to a wire loop, which presses against the other nearest tooth, and is cemented in place using a powerful adhesive. Then, whenever your child’s adult tooth is about to erupt, you’ll just come back into our office to have the space maintainer removed. It’s that simple.