Dental implants are titanium posts positioned into your child’s jawbone and gums. As the jawbone heals, these posts bond to it. A connecting piece is attached to the post by your child’s dentist, and a fake or replacement tooth is attached to the connector. These replacement teeth are designed to seem natural and blend in with the neighboring teeth. Houston dental implants are fixed, permanent methods of replacing lost teeth that provide an alternative to bridges and dentures.
Kids as dental implant candidates
One of the most crucial elements in determining whether or not you are a good candidate for implants is whether or not you have enough healthy jawbones for the procedure. A bone transplant treatment for adults develops a healthy jawbone for the process. Jawbone development in youngsters must be taken into account. Because dental implants are intended to be permanent, they may not perform well in youngsters still growing and developing jawbones and teeth. As the surrounding teeth grow and mature, they may move, affecting the replacement tooth. If the jawbone is still growing, it may be inappropriate to retain an implant. Additionally, the replacement tooth might become crooked when a dental implant is placed too soon.
Effective options for dental implants
Many toddlers, pre-teens, and teenagers do not want to go through life with a missing tooth. Instead of being left with a gap in their smile, you can investigate alternatives while they wait a few years for a dental implant. Here are a few of your options:
- Partially removable denture: As needed, one or more artificial teeth are fitted to this removable denture. Wearing a partial denture conceals your child’s missing teeth.
- Bridge: You can choose between a tooth-supported fixed bridge and a resin-bonded bridge. A fixed bridge necessitates grinding the teeth adjacent to the gap so that a crown may be fitted to support the bridge. Because a resin-bonded bridge does not require this prep work, healthy neighboring teeth are not harmed. These alternatives usually look and operate better than detachable dentures.
- Braces: A fake tooth can be linked to an orthodontic wire while the braces fix crooked teeth and biting difficulties to cover the gap created by the avulsed tooth.
- Space maintainers: If your child is younger at the time of the event, a baby tooth has most likely been knocked out. A permanent tooth will develop in its place, but you can use a space maintainer to keep everything straight. Depending on your child’s circumstances and which tooth has been knocked out, removable and fixed space maintainers are available.
A dental consultation allows you to determine whether dental implants are appropriate for your kid. Your child’s dentist will evaluate their age, tooth and jaw development, and other considerations during this visit. This determines if dental implants are an appropriate alternative for restoring your child’s lost tooth or teeth. If not, they will consider different methods for replacing lost teeth. Older children with fully grown jawbones and teeth are regarded as better prospects for dental implants than younger children. Call Jeffrey Busch, DDS, to schedule your meeting today to determine which dental implant procedure is best for your child.