Space Maintainers (Spacer)

Children may need space maintainers if they lose a tooth early or have a baby (primary) tooth extracted before the adult tooth is close to erupting.

A space maintainer is an appliance that is custom-made. It can be either removable or cemented in a child’s mouth. Its purpose is to keep the space open to allow the permanent tooth to erupt and come into place. Baby teeth are important to the development of the teeth, jaw bones and muscles and help to guide permanent teeth into position when the baby teeth are lost. If a space is not maintained, then teeth can shift into the open space and can block the adult tooth from erupting into proper position.  Not every child who loses a baby tooth early requires a space maintainer.  However, your dentist can determine if the use of a space maintainer is needed.

Types of Space Maintainers
There are two types of space maintainers:

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.
2. Fixed – there are four different kinds of fixed space maintainers: unilateral, crown and loop, distal shoe and lingual.

The unilateral and crown and loop space maintainers are placed on one side of the mouth to hold space open for one tooth. The unilateral space maintainer wraps around the outside of the tooth and is connected to a metal loop that holds the space intact. The crown and loop is an actual crown that covers the tooth and is attached to the loop to ensure there is space for the erupting tooth.

The distal shoe space maintainer is usually used for an unerupted first permanent molar tooth. It is a more complicated space maintainer because the end of the metal is usually inserted into the gum line to keep the open space from closing. A dentist will need to monitor the progress of the erupting permanent molar to make sure it can erupt properly with this space maintainer.

The lingual space maintainer is usually bilateral in nature and may be cemented to molar teeth and connected by a wire on the inside of the lower front teeth. Usually this is used for more than one missing tooth.

Sometimes children may be missing teeth due to congenital diseases and may require a partial denture versus a space maintainer. It is important to meet with your dentist to determine appropriate options.

Wearing the Space Maintainer
Once the space maintainer is made, it may take the child a few days to get accustomed to wearing the appliance whether it is removable or fixed. The dentist should review with the child and parent the proper ways to clean the space maintainer thoroughly in order to keep the gum tissue healthy and free of dental plaque.  Dietary restriction’s may apply.

The child should be seen by the dentist on a regular basis to monitor the progress of treatment with the space maintainer and continue to receive a regular professional cleaning appointment.

for more information please visit

www.colgateprofessional.com

© Copyright 2009 Colgate-Palmolive Company