USE OF AESTHETIC-FUNCTIONAL SPACE MAINTAINER FOR EARLY LOSS OF PRIMARY TEETH: CASE REPORT
Keywords:
Space Maintenance, Orthodontic, Tooth, Deciduous, Pediatric Dentistry, ChildAbstract
The early loss of primary teeth causes functional and aesthetic damage, ranging from the migration and/or inclination of adjacent teeth into the edentulous space, arch shortening, and antagonist extrusion, to phonetic and aesthetic impairment. Therefore, space maintainers are one of the viable resources to minimize these consequences. This article reports the case of a 7-year-old child patient who was prescribed an aesthetic- functional space maintainer due to the early loss of primary central and lateral incisors, and first and second primary molars. Clinical examination revealed active and advanced caries lesions in the primary anterior teeth (upper primary central and lateral incisors) and in the posterior teeth (lower primary first and second molars), where only root remnants were present. Radiographic examination revealed that the permanent successors of the extensively destroyed primary teeth were below Nolla stage 8, indicative of early loss. After conclusively analyzing the need for rehabilitation treatment to maintain the early loss of space, planning for a removable aesthetic-functional space maintainer was undertaken. This case report, which demonstrated acceptance and adherence to the appliance by the child patient and her mother, combined with satisfactory functional and aesthetic results, concludes that space maintainers are viable and affordable options for early loss of primary teeth.
