It’s common for children to lose teeth after ages five or six, but they can lose them early as four years old or as late as seven. However, if they lose a baby tooth and a permanent one doesn’t start appearing within a few days, they may have lost it prematurely. If you’re concerned because a new tooth isn’t emerging, contact our pediatric dentists at ToothTown of Greeley to check their teeth.

Does Your Child Need Space Maintainers?

While not every tooth falling out early requires the use of space maintainers near you, our pediatric dentist in Greeley, CO, should examine your child’s teeth. Although some toddlers can lose their teeth in accidents, they should not lose teeth before age five, ideally.

Whether by accident or decay, if your child loses a primary tooth around three or four years old, you should take them to our dentists. Early loss of a tooth can cause a tooth beside it to drift into the empty socket. This action can interfere with the permanent tooth when it tries to erupt.

The permanent tooth will erupt, but it may get pushed into the wrong space since there is already a tooth in its slot. This eruption can cause your child’s permanent teeth to be misaligned, overcrowded, or crooked.

Using a Space Maintainer

A space maintainer is usually applied when a molar, premolar, or incisor is the primary tooth that is prematurely lost. The front teeth of both jaws seldom need help erupting into their correct spaces. However, if the back teeth drift into the wrong sockets, they can become misaligned.

The way space maintainers work is they prevent the tooth adjacent to the empty socket from drifting into it. The most applied maintainers are the band and loop design. One of our dentists will attach the metal band to one of the teeth adjacent to the empty socket. The loop is placed around the socket, which allows the permanent tooth to erupt, and pushes against the other adjacent primary tooth to prevent movement.

There are other types of maintainers, so if your toddler loses one or more primary teeth early, you should book an appointment with our child friendly dentists at ToothTown of Greeley to determine if they need space maintainers in Greeley, CO.