Protecting Your Child’s Smile with Dental Space Maintainers
When a child loses a baby tooth too early, this situation can create troubles when it comes to the spacing and growth of the teeth. Eventually, baby teeth are replaced by permanent teeth, but if that doesn’t happen right away, your child may end up with teeth that don’t grow in correctly. One solution to this common problem is adding space maintainers, which are dental appliances that help to maintain the space left by a lost tooth. A tooth space maintainer can help guide the growth of permanent teeth and prevent any misalignment.
There are many reasons why your child may have lost a baby tooth before it was time. Perhaps they experienced some type of trauma, causing the tooth to fall out. Maybe the tooth was decaying, requiring removal to prevent spread. No matter the situation, space maintainers in dentistry can resolve the concerns associated with improper growth. Specifically, a band and loop space maintainer can be used for single-tooth loss, helping preserve the gap until the permanent tooth emerges.
At Smile Cove Pediatric Dental, we can place pediatric space maintainers for patients located throughout the Tampa, Florida area. We work with children of all ages, providing comprehensive dental care to protect their oral health today and in the future. You can rely on us to determine when space maintainers are necessary to prevent the surrounding teeth from overcrowding or shifting into the space left by a baby’s tooth loss. After the permanent tooth shows signs of coming in, we will remove the space maintainer and allow the growth to occur.
During regular dental examinations, we can perform thorough assessments to determine whether dental space maintainers are the right treatment option. Contact our office to schedule an appointment today. We look forward to caring for and treating your children.