Things to Know About Placeholders in Children

What is a placeholder?

They are fixed or movable devices made to prevent loss of space as a result of premature loss of milk teeth due to caries, infection or dental trauma.

Why is placeholder made?

The premature loss of milk teeth causes the neighboring teeth to move towards the extraction space and the gap is closed. This situation results in the formation of space losses and crowding. For this reason, a placeholder must be made to protect the space created by the lost tooth until the permanent tooth erupts.

Which specialist should be taken to children with missing milk teeth?

Not only in the absence of milk teeth, but also healthy protection of children’s milk and permanent teeth; A pedodontist should be consulted in order to eliminate the problems caused by caries, trauma, hereditary and similar factors in these teeth.

Can the placeholder be applied to every missing primary tooth?

In general, it can be applied for every missing primary tooth, but it may vary from case to case. The type of placeholder to be used may vary according to the dental development of the children, the number of missing teeth and their location. The age of the child is also important in the application of the placeholder.

Is the missing milk tooth a significant problem?

It is an extremely important problem. Baby teeth act as natural placeholders until permanent teeth erupt. If milk teeth are lost early for any reason; other teeth will slide towards this gap and will close the place of the extracted primary tooth. This will prevent the permanent tooth, which will erupt from below, from erupting from its ideal place. If the permanent tooth cannot erupt from where it should be, it can cause crowding in the teeth and this can cause orthodontic problems.

What kind of problems can be encountered in the future if placeholders are not made?

Placeholders prevent the extraction gap from being closed by other teeth and maintain this gap until the permanent tooth erupts, ensuring that the permanent tooth erupts in the ideal position. If a placeholder is not made, the other teeth will move towards the space and close the place of the extraction space. This will cause the permanent tooth to not be able to grow in the ideal position and cause orthodontic problems such as crowding in the future. The formation of a beautiful tooth row will be prevented due to crowding, it will be difficult to brush the teeth and the risk of tooth decay will increase in the interfaces of the teeth.

How much time is required for the placeholder operation?

2 short sessions are sufficient for placeholder operation. After taking measurements from the child in the first session, dental technicians prepare the placeholder. The placeholder prepared in the second session is applied to the child’s mouth by the physician. It is very easy to apply and use.

Is a placeholder an expensive operation?

The placeholder application is not an expensive operation considering the problems to be experienced in the future.

Bagcilar Hospitadent

Chief Physician Dt. OGUZ KARA