Do you ever wonder what happens when a child loses a primary tooth at an early age?

Primary teeth are very important to a child as they guide the developing adult teeth into the proper places.

If a child has a traumatic event – such as a fall, with a blow to the mouth and loses a tooth or loses “baby” teeth due to decay; it is imperative to see a dentist as soon as possible to find out what options are available.

Early missing primary teeth can cause the permanent, or adult teeth to drift into the empty spaces. This in turn, can create a problem for the other adult teeth to find room when erupting. It can also make teeth crooked or even crowded.

In our Etobicoke dental office, we will use an orthodontic option called BAND and LOOP space maintainer. The purpose of this is to hold the space open until the eruption of the permanent tooth; while retaining the alignment of the adjacent teeth.

This procedure will require two appointments. The first appointment we will take an impression/mould of the teeth to have the appliance made. The second appointment will be to insert the band loop space maintainer. It is a simple procedure where the appliance is cemented in place. Once the eruption fully occurs, we will remove the appliance.