young, smiling girl sitting in a dental chair

Space Maintainers in Laredo, TX

A space maintainer is a small oral appliance that fits over a tooth and holds space open for the adult tooth next to it to grow in. Space maintainers can be placed quickly and easily, and they can save patients a lot of trouble down the road. Not sure if your child needs a space maintainer? You can always give our office a call and explain the situation, and our team will be happy to assist you.

Why are space maintainers important?

Space maintainers are important because they prevent teeth from moving into spaces where they are not supposed to be. When there is a gap in a patient’s smile, the teeth can sometimes shift to make the gap smaller. Unfortunately, when this happens after a baby tooth is dislodged too early, the nearby teeth can block the adult tooth underneath from growing in properly, which can cause pain and orthodontic issues for the patient. Space maintainers are a simple and easy preventive measure that keeps this from happening.

little boy covering his mouth with his hands

How do I know if my child needs a space maintainer?

If your child had a loose tooth that fell out on its own, they should not need a space maintainer, as the tooth was likely pushed out of the way by the adult tooth underneath. If your child was involved in an accident where one or more teeth were knocked out that were not loose at all, we recommend scheduling a visit with our office, especially if you cannot see the adult tooth in the socket. We may determine that they don’t have any dental trauma and don’t need a space maintainer, but it’s always safer to check and make sure.

Do space maintainers hurt?

Space maintainers should not be painful for kids to wear. It may take your child some time to get used to having a space maintainer, and there may be a short adjustment period where they get accustomed to eating with one. Patients with space maintainers should also take extra care of their teeth during this time and ensure that they are cleaning around their space maintainer adequately, as the last thing that we want is for tooth decay to develop around the space maintainer. Should any discomfort that they experience last for a long time, please let our team know.