Dental Health Check with Dr. Linda Niessen
Dental health topics from Dr. Linda Niessen of Baylor College of Dentistry
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 Saving Space

By
Monday, October 18, 2004

STORY:  SAVING SPACE
SCRIPT # 578  SHOOT:  9/04/04
AIRDATE:   Monday, Oct. 18, 2004
Daybreak and Midday
DHC Master #20    Timecode: 9:41

Problems can occur when children lose baby teeth too early. Spaces between teeth often cause trouble if not corrected by a dentist. Dr. Linda Niessen looks at an easy solution in this segment of Dental Health Check.

At age 10, Savannah Reynolds needs a special retainer called a space maintainer. Her sister, Valerie, also needs one. "Oh well, its nice that you didn't have have to go through all those braces and tightenings and everything. And you still have straight teeth. And it looks nice," said Valerie.

Space maintainers are metal or plastic devices that hold space when primary or baby teeth are lost too early.

Orthodontist Dr. Patrick Ohlenforst says, "One of the most important roles of baby teeth is to act as a natural space maintainer for the permanent teeth."

When a primary tooth is lost early, other teeth may tip or drift out of position. This frequently occurs if the tooth lost is a molar.

Pediatric Dentist Dr. Robert Morgan had this to say, "Here is the fallacy. Everybody thinks that all permanent teeth are bigger than the baby teeth. In the front, that's the case normally. That's why they crowd up. However, in most of the population, the posterior, or back baby molars, are actually wider than the permanent teeth coming in."

Here are some common space problems. Teeth can become crowded, crooked, and out of alignment with each other- a condition called "malocclusion."

Dr. Morgan added, "And many, many times by placing the space maintainer, you take a child that might have had to have permanent teeth taken out, and now you don't have to take permanent teeth out."

Orthodontists and pediatric dentists often suggest space maintainers. Think of them as insurance against a full set of braces.

Jenny Reynolds, the childrens' mother, had this to add: "Her teeth were crowded and they became straight and it was amazing."
      
Space maintainers can be critical in treating not just lost teeth but also crowded teeth. For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M System, I'm Dr. Linda Niessen, Channel 8 News.

Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and  the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.

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