Space Maintainers

What is the purpose of a space maintainer?

A space maintainer is used to hold space for adult teeth. The amount of space within a child’s mouth becomes an important factor if the primary teeth begin to fall out too early. If the primary teeth do begin to fall out prematurely, adult teeth can begin to come through into those new spaces, rather than where they should be. This causes issues for when other adult teeth begin to come in because there may not be enough space in the mouth. A space maintainer will hold that space to prevent this from happening.