It is true that your child only has their primary teeth for a limited amount of time. But it is important for a number of reasons that your child keep those teeth until it is time for the permanent teeth to erupt. If your child loses a baby tooth before its time, call Agave Dental Care at 915-833-0303. Our dentists, Dr. Tony Kasallis or Dr. Stephen Sticht, can see your child for a visit for a space maintainer in El Paso, Texas.
The primary or baby teeth help your child to eat their food. But they can also play a key role in your child’s speech development and help maintain their dental alignment so that their permanent or adult teeth can erupt as they should. If a tooth is lost before it is time for the adult tooth to come in, the remaining teeth can move out of place and keep the new tooth from coming in as it should. A primary tooth can be lost due to:
- Severe decay
- Damage from trauma to the mouth
- Disease
- Missing teeth at birth
In these cases, our dentist can place a space maintainer in your child’s smile to keep that space open and guide the permanent tooth so that it can erupt as it should. A space maintainer can be a removable appliance or, in the case of a younger child, our dentist may recommend fixing it in place for the best possible results.