What is a space maintainer?

Space maintainers are appliances custom made by your dental professional that are made of metal or acrylic to fit your child’s mouth for the purpose of keeping a space open that may be at risk for closing or becoming smaller due to incoming teeth. The appliance itself is usually small and not visible during normal speech or smiling. They are normally fixed, meaning that they are bonded in place because they are used in the mouths of children who might be prone to taking the appliance out.

Why is a space maintainer used?

Space maintainers hold open the empty space left by a lost tooth. If a baby tooth is lost too soon due to trauma or decay, a space maintainer is important because it can keep the area open where the permanent tooth is due to come in. If the other baby teeth fill in the area where the tooth was lost, there may not be room for the permanent tooth to come in later.

If you have any questions about space maintainers being used in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics please do not hesitate to call us.