SPACE MAINTAINERS


A milk tooth usually stays in the mouth till it’s time for its permanent successor to erupt. If a child’s tooth has come out too soon, either due to some injury or due to cavities, it becomes important to maintain that space such that the permanent tooth may erupt without problems. This maintenance of space is done by an appliance known as the space maintainer.
Space maintainers prevent the movement of the teeth adjacent to the extraction socket. These appliances are custom made by the dentist for each child and are fabricated either with acrylic or with metal wires. These are small and unobtrusive and the child easily adjusts to it.


TYPES:


  1.  Removable – Removable space maintainers are similar to orthodontic appliances and are usually made of acrylic. In some cases, an artificial tooth may be used to fill a space that must remain open for the unerupted tooth. These can be removed by the patient:





2. Fixed – These cannot be removed by the patient and have wire components:




CARING FOR THE SPACE MAINTAINER
The space maintainer may feel unusual at first. But after a few days, the child probably will forget about it.
A removable space maintainer with replacement teeth can affect speech until your child gets used to it.
If it is removable, the space maintainer should be removed and thoroughly cleaned and stored in water when not worn.
For fixed space maintainers, visit your dentist at regular intervals and ensure that food doesn’t accumulate.

REMOVAL OF SPACE MAINTAINER
The dentist will suggest removing the space maintainer, once the permanent tooth, for which space is being maintained starts erupting.

ITS Dental College has specialized dentists who can diagnose the need for a space maintainer and have the expertise to fabricate these custom space maintainers for your little ones!

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