970-506-1122Your child is born with their first set of teeth. Those teeth will finish coming in by the time they are three. Over time, those teeth will fall out as their permanent teeth start to come in. However, there are situations in which your child may lose one of their teeth before the permanent tooth are ready to erupt. Your child can lose a tooth from an accident, or from tooth decay.
If your child loses a tooth too early, it can cause problems for their bite alignment later. The permanent teeth are guided into their new places with the space left by the lost tooth. If the baby tooth is lost too soon, the permanent one may come in at the wrong angle. If that happens, our dentist, Dr. Nicholas A. Jamison II may recommend a space maintainer to preserve your child’s smile. A space maintainer is usually made of acrylic and functions as a temporary tooth to keep the space open for the permanent tooth. There are two kinds of space maintainers: removable, which can be used for older children, and fixed, which maintainers, which are used for younger children and for missing molars.
You should make sure that your child brushes their teeth twice a day and flosses once a day. They should also visit Nicholas A. Jamison II DDS, our dental office in Greeley, Colorado, so we can clean their teeth, and check for any problems. If they have an accident and lose a tooth, please call us at 970-506-1122 right away so we can address the problem.