A missing tooth can feel like a big deal to a child, especially when it affects how they eat, speak, or smile. Dr. Narineh Panoosian at Southern Smiles Pediatric Dentistry and Dr. Matthew McNutt at McNutt Orthodontics have extensive experience in providing child-friendly options for addressing missing teeth while supporting healthy development. We take a team approach to solving these problems through interdisciplinary care. Let’s explore how these solutions can make a difference for children and their growing smiles.
Why Restoring Missing Teeth Matters
Missing teeth can create more challenges than they might seem at first glance. For children, these gaps can affect daily activities like eating, speaking clearly, and feeling confident about their appearance. At Southern Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, Dr. Narineh Panoosian helps families understand the importance of addressing missing teeth to support healthy growth and development. Dr. Panoosian consults with our orthodontist, Dr. Matthew McNutt, as well as other dental specialists (such as a prosthodontist), to ensure that growing children are provided with sensible options that optimize both their oral health and self-confidence.
Here are a few key reasons why filling gaps is important:
- Chewing and Nutrition: Missing teeth can make it harder for children to chew certain foods, potentially affecting their nutrition and eating habits.
- Speech Development: Gaps can impact speech clarity, making it harder for children to communicate effectively.
- Maintaining Spacing: When one tooth is missing, the surrounding teeth may shift into the empty space, potentially leading to alignment concerns later.
- Optimizing self-confidence and the appearance of the teeth and smile.
Dr. Panoosian emphasizes that restoring missing teeth helps avoid these challenges and sets the stage for a healthy, happy smile as your child grows. Next, let’s explore one option specifically designed to hold space for teeth in for growing children: space maintainers.
Space Maintainers
When a baby tooth is lost earlier than expected, it’s important to maintain the space for the permanent tooth that will eventually take its place. Space maintainers are a simple and effective solution offered by both our pediatric dental team at Southern Smiles & by our orthodontic team at McNutt Orthodontics. Space maintainers are a very effective way to support your child’s oral development.
What Are Space Maintainers?
These small, custom-made devices are designed to hold the space left by a missing tooth. They prevent neighboring teeth from shifting into the gap, ensuring there’s enough room for the permanent tooth to come in properly. There are different reasons why a spot in your child’s mouth might have a missing tooth. Sometimes, baby teeth are removed early due to tooth decay (cavities) or are removed because of an orthodontic crowding problem.
Benefits of Space Maintainers:
- Supports Proper Growth: Keeps the space open, allowing permanent teeth to erupt in the right position.
- Prevents Crowding: Avoids shifting that could lead to alignment concerns or crowding.
- Avoiding Extraction of Permanent Teeth: In very crowded mouths, a space maintainer can be the difference between having to remove permanent teeth and keeping all the permanent teeth, which we generally want to do!
- Prevent Tooth Impactions: Alignment problems can lead to tooth impactions; this is where a permanent tooth becomes stuck in the jaw bone and is unable to emerge.
- Custom Comfort: Each space maintainer is tailored to fit comfortably in your child’s mouth, making it easy to wear daily. Most are attached to the permanent molars in the back and are removed by the dentist after they are no longer needed.
Space maintainers are a proactive way to manage missing teeth in growing children, preserving their dental health and development. Next, let’s take a closer look at another temporary solution for missing teeth: pediatric partial dentures.
Pediatric Partial Dentures
For children missing one or more teeth, pediatric partial dentures can be a great option to fill in the gaps until their permanent teeth are ready to grow in. Dr. Narineh Panoosian at Southern Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, offers this removable solution to restore both function and appearance in a way that’s comfortable for young patients.
What Are Pediatric Partial Dentures?
These are custom-made appliances designed to replace missing teeth and fit seamlessly into your child’s mouth. They are removable, making them easy to clean and maintain, and they help children feel more confident about their smiles. Occasionally, children may suffer trauma and lose a front tooth. This can be a good temporary solution until the permanent teeth come in. High tech 3D scanners & 3D printing technology can be used to make a pediatric partial denture. This is truly an innovative solution for little ones.
Benefits of Pediatric Partials:
- Restores Appearance: Fills in gaps to give your child a more complete smile, which can boost their confidence.
- Improves Functionality: Helps with chewing and speaking, making daily activities easier.
- Supports Oral Development: Temporarily restores the structure of the mouth, helping maintain proper spacing for permanent teeth.
Pediatric partial dentures are especially useful when a child’s permanent teeth are still years away from erupting. Next, let’s discuss a more long-term solution for adults: dental implants.
Dental Implants For Adults
As children grow older, we have to begin to consider the best long-term solutions for missing teeth. For some patients, dental implants can become a viable option for restoring missing teeth. After jawbones have fully developed (typically age 22-28 in adults), implants can provide a long-lasting and natural-looking solution. Not every patient will be a good implant candidate. Dr. Narineh Panoosian at Southern Smiles Pediatric Dentistry and Dr. Matthew McNutt at McNutt Orthodontics are well versed in this option and can provide guidance for families.
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are small titanium posts that are surgically placed into the jawbone, acting as a sturdy foundation for a replacement tooth. The implant itself mimics the tooth root. A natural-looking tooth crown is attached to the implant post, replacing the look and function of a natural tooth.
Benefits of Dental Implants:
- Durability: Implants are designed to last for decades with proper care, making them a permanent solution.
- Natural Look and Feel: They match the color and shape of surrounding teeth, offering a realistic appearance.
- Stability: Unlike removable options, implants are securely anchored, ensuring they won’t shift or move during daily activities like eating or speaking.
While dental implants are not typically recommended for children, they can be an excellent choice for mature adults who are ready for a permanent replacement. For those seeking a different approach, let’s explore how dental bridges can help restore missing teeth.
Dental Bridges
When it comes to restoring missing teeth, dental bridges are an effective option that provides both functionality and a natural appearance. Dr. Narineh Panoosian at Southern Smiles Pediatric Dentistry or Dr. Matthew McNutt at McNutt Orthodontics may recommend a bridge for teens with fully developed teeth who need a fixed, long-term solution.
What Are Dental Bridges?
A dental bridge is a fixed appliance that replaces one or more missing teeth by anchoring a replacement tooth (or teeth) to the surrounding natural teeth or dental implants. It’s designed to restore the gap seamlessly. This is another area where high-tech 3D scanners & 3D printing technology can be implemented to make a custom bridge that bonds seamlessly to the existing teeth without altering the form or shape of the natural teeth. Not every patient will be a good candidate for a 3D-printed bridge; however, this is truly an innovative solution for some of our little ones.
Benefits of Dental Bridges:
- Restores Functionality: Bridges help improve chewing and speaking by filling in missing spaces.
- Stable and Long-Lasting: Unlike removable options, bridges are fixed in place, providing reliable and durable results.
- Aesthetic Improvement: They blend in with natural teeth, creating a cohesive and polished smile.
Bridges, along with other restorative options like implants and partial dentures, can play a pivotal role in bringing back the full functionality and appearance of a smile in need.
Your Child’s Smile Solution
Restoring missing teeth doesn’t have to be overwhelming when there are so many effective options. From space maintainers to bridges, Dr. Narineh Panoosian and the team at Southern Smiles Pediatric Dentistry are here to create a plan that works for your child’s needs. Helping your child eat, speak, and smile with confidence is what we do best. Schedule an evaluation appointment at our Cary office with our pediatric dentist, Dr. Panoosian, or with our orthodontist, Dr. McNutt, today!