A Little Room, Please!
You might think that baby teeth serve no real purpose other than to look cute. After all, they eventually fall out! But the role they play is vital to optimal dental development. Baby teeth serve as placeholders for their permanent cohorts. If a baby tooth is lost too early, that precious space may not be available when a permanent tooth is ready to make an appearance. As a result, problems can occur. But never fear, Mint Hill NC’s Dr. Bevin Malley offer space management techniques and appliances to make sure teeth have the space they need.
Reasons for Early Loss of Baby Teeth
There are all kinds of reasons that baby teeth are lost early. Playground accidents have been known to cause a lost tooth or two. Sometimes a baby tooth is missing at birth, meaning that it never properly formed. Additionally, a baby tooth suffering from extensive decay may have to be extracted.
Maintaining Space
Each child is different, and Dr. Malley provides personalized space management treatments to address different situations and needs. Space maintenance oral appliances fit in the mouth and help to keep free space free. These appliances can be fixed in place or removable.
The ones fixed in place typically involve the use of a stainless steel band placed around a tooth with a small fixture protruding into the space that needs to remain open. Removable appliances look like a retainer and are comprised of comfortable acrylic. In rare instances, an appliance mimicking a partial denture can be used to maintain space in children missing multiple baby teeth, such as those with certain diseases or conditions that contribute to early tooth loss.
Treatment to retain space isn’t required in every instance in which a baby tooth is lost early. That’s why it’s important to have Mint Hill children’s dentist Dr. Malley assess the situation and determine the proper treatment for your child.
Call Us
If you have questions, feel free to call us or to schedule an appointment to meet one-on-one with Dr. Malley. Mint Hill residents trust us with their pediatric dental needs, and you can, too.