 Overview
A patient asked recently, "What's
a space maintainer?" I told him
this can be vital to your child's dental
health.
If your child loses a baby tooth early
through decay or injury, the child's
other teeth could shift and begin to
fill the vacant space. When your child's
permanent teeth emerge, there's not enough
room for them. The result is crooked
or crowded teeth and difficulties with
chewing or speaking.
To prevent that, your dentist inserts
a space maintainer to hold the spot left
by the lost tooth until the permanent
tooth emerges. The space maintainer might
be a band or a temporary crown attached
to one side of the vacant space. Later,
as the permanent tooth emerges, your
dentist removes the device. And presto!
Your child is ready for a lifetime of
smiles.
Additional
Resources
ADA Dental Minute
Please note: The ADA does not provide specific answers
to individual questions about fees, dental problems, conditions, diagnoses,
treatments or proposed treatments, or requests for research. Information about
dental referrals, complaints and a variety of dental procedures may
be found here. You can also refer to our Frequently
Asked Questions page for answers to common questions.
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