Space Maintainers in Greenville NC | Greenville NC Space Maintainers

A young child giving a thumbs-up sign in front of dental chairs.

Space Maintainers

Baby teeth play a vital role in a child's growth and development. Besides serving as placeholders for the permanent teeth, they help with speaking, eating, chewing, and guiding the eruption of adult teeth into their proper positions.

The Importance of Baby Teeth

While it may seem like baby teeth are not crucial since they eventually fall out, this is far from the truth. Each baby tooth has a specific purpose— playing an essential role in your child's oral health and development. They help with:

Speech development: Baby teeth help children learn to speak correctly by providing the necessary support for their tongue.
Nutrition: They enable children to properly chew food and effectively consume a balanced diet to maintain good overall health.
Jaw development: The baby teeth impact a child's jaw and facial muscle development and guide the proper eruption of the permanent teeth to support a healthy bite.
Space maintenance: Baby teeth act as placeholders, or space maintainers, for their permanent successors. They reserve the necessary space in the jaw for adult teeth to erupt into their correct positions.

The Consequences of Prematurely Lost Baby Teeth

When a baby tooth is lost prematurely due to extensive decay, injury, or other reasons, it can lead to several problems. For one thing, the permanent teeth already in place or erupting on either side of the space can begin to drift and shift, causing them to limit or block the space needed for the underlying permanent tooth.

This unplanned movement can result in various issues, including:

Crowding: When there's not enough room for all the teeth, they may become crowded and overlap. This situation can make them difficult to clean, increasing the risk of decay and gum disease.
Misalignment: Teeth that are not properly aligned can lead to bite problems, such as overbites or underbites, which can cause discomfort and difficulty chewing.
Impaired eruption: When permanent teeth do not have enough space to erupt correctly, they may become impacted (stuck beneath the gums and bone) or erupt at an angle, causing further alignment issues.

The Role of Space Maintainers in Dentistry

To prevent these problems, our office may recommend placing a space maintainer. As the name suggests, a space maintainer is an appliance designed to keep the space open for an erupting permanent tooth after a baby tooth is prematurely lost. A space maintainer acts as a placeholder, preventing adjacent teeth from drifting into the space while ensuring enough room for the permanent tooth to erupt correctly. While maintaining the space, this tiny appliance helps promote proper tooth alignment, bite function, and overall oral health.

Types of Space Maintainers

The type of space maintainer recommended by our dentist will depend on various factors, including the location of the lost baby tooth, the development stage of the underlying permanent tooth, and your child's specific dental needs.

Some common types of space maintainers include:

Fixed Space Maintainers

Fixed space maintainers are cemented onto a tooth adjacent to the empty space and can only be removed by the dentist when the successor tooth starts to erupt into place.

Bands and Loops: Bands are fitted around a tooth and connected to a wire loop.
Distal Shoe: A distal shoe is a small metal appliance that attaches to the back surface of a molar and extends into the empty space.
Nance Appliance: A Nance appliance is a removable space maintainer made of an acrylic base that fits over the roof of the mouth or lies along the tongue side of several teeth. It has wires that extend into the space, preventing adjacent teeth from drifting.
Lingual Arch: A lingual arch is a wire that extends across the tongue side of the lower teeth and is attached to molar bands. This type of space maintainer is often used to maintain the width of the dental arch and prevent tipping of the molars.

Caring for Space Maintainers

Maintaining good oral hygiene is essential when your child has a space maintainer. Here are some tips for caring for these appliances:

Brushing: Brush the teeth and the space maintainer gently but thoroughly, using a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste.
Flossing: Floss around the appliance daily to remove plaque and food debris. Your children's dentist can show you how to floss with a space maintainer in place.
Avoid hard or sticky foods: Foods that are hard, chewy, or sticky can damage the space maintainer or cause it to come loose. Encourage your child to avoid these types of foods while wearing the appliance.
Wear the appliance as directed: If your child has a removable space maintainer, make sure they wear it as instructed by our dentist. Not wearing the appliance as directed can lead to drifting of adjacent teeth and may require additional dental treatment.

The Importance of Regular Dental Check-ups

Remember, regular dental check-ups are crucial for maintaining good oral health, especially when your child has a space maintainer. During these appointments, our dentist will examine the appliance to ensure its functioning correctly and that there are no signs of damage or wear. We'll also monitor the development of your child's permanent teeth and adjust the space maintainer to accommodate their growth.

Conclusion

Space maintainers play an essential role in preserving the health and alignment of your child's teeth. At Casey Dental, we are committed to providing exceptional dental care tailored to the unique needs of each child. Our dentist and office team work closely with parents to ensure that their children receive outstanding dental care and get all the information they need for a lifetime of healthy smiles.

If you have any questions about space maintainers or would like to schedule an appointment, please don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to helping your child achieve a beautiful, healthy smile!