Space Maintainers

1. It is best to be careful when eating sticky or crunchy foods as these can break the seal that holds the appliance in place
2. Don’t tug or push on the space maintainer with your fingers or tongue
3. Keep in mind that a space maintainer will create a space in which food can become easily trapped. So, making sure your child brushes their teeth properly is very important, as food can cause gum irritation or decay
4. If the appliance becomes loose and comes off, we recommend you store it in a safe place and come back to Happy Kids Dental to re-cement it within 48 hours. If more time passes, you child’s teeth may begin to shift, making it difficult (or impossible) to re-fit the existing appliance

Every child is unique, so we recommend you visit a paediatric dentist in the first instance, as they will be able to use their extensive knowledge of child development to assess your child’s specific needs. At Happy Kids Dental, we are able to assess the position of the permanent tooth within the bone by studying digital X-rays and then measuring the depth of bone through which the adult tooth will have to pierce before it is visible in the mouth.

It typically takes an erupting adult tooth between four and six months to penetrate 1mm of bone. This standardisation provides our paediatric dentist a basis for calculating the distance measurement, in consideration of the digital X-rays

Not all lost baby teeth create a need for the placement of a space maintainer. It simply depends on how long it will take the permanent tooth to erupt. If the dentist feels that the permanent tooth will come into place before any detrimental tooth shifting has had the chance to take place, then one won't be required.

Another clinical scenario in which there is no need to fit an appliance is with the loss of front teeth. While we appreciate that this can be unsettling for the parent and child involved, due to the anatomy of the bone in the frontal region, no space will be lost when this occurs.

Finally, if the X-ray confirms that half (or more) of the adult tooth is already formed and that the tooth is positioned close to the gum, space maintenance is not advisable.

A rule of thumb for this is that if your child’s baby molars have come out before the age of 8 ½, in most instances it is too early. During a timely development process, these teeth would not be expected to come out before the age of 9 or 10.

There are multiple studies that suggest that almost all cases of baby molar loss (1st or 2nd), result in some degree of space loss. Most of the space lost is sacrificed during the first 6 months following the loss of the baby tooth.

A space maintainer is a custom fit appliance made of metal.

Space maintainers are fixed to the surrounding teeth. The most common type of space maintainer is the band and loop. This method sees a band cemented around the tooth behind the vacant space. From there, the maintainer is looped around the gum, resting on the tooth in front of the space.

This procedure will keep that space and allow the new permanent tooth to grow into its proper place.

The best space maintainer is the natural tooth itself. Despite all of the benefits that placing a space maintainer offers, preserving the original natural tooth is still the optimal course.