A space maintainer is an appliance that is custom-made by a dentist or orthodontist in acrylic or metal material. 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.
Children may need space maintainers if they lose a tooth early or have a baby (primary) tooth extracted due to dental decay.
Types of Space Maintainers
There are two types of space maintainers for children, removable and fixed.
There are numerous types of space maintainers. They range from the very simple to those with numerous bands and wires.
A removable space maintainer, of course, can be removed. A fixed space maintainer is fixed (i.e., held) to a tooth or to more than one tooth.
- 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.
- Fixed – There are four different kinds of fixed space maintainers: unilateral, crown and loop, distal shoe and lingual.
Are Space Maintainers Always Necessary?
- Not every tooth that is lost too early requires a space maintainer. If one of the four upper front teeth is lost early, the space will stay open on its own until the permanent tooth comes in.
- If you do not take your child to the dentist regularly — at least every six months — a space maintainer can cause problems. This especially can occur if your child does not brush well. The gum tissue in the space can grow over the wire arm, increasing the risk of infection. If that happens, your child’s dentist may have to remove the gum tissue by surgery.
- If the permanent tooth is about to erupt, the dentist may decide not to use a space maintainer unless your child needs braces and space is a critical issue.
Caring for Your Space Maintainer
The space maintainer may feel unusual at first. But after a few days, your child probably will forget about it.
A removable space maintainer with replacement teeth can affect speech until your child gets used to it.
This photograph shows an example of a fixed bilateral space maintainer.
