Dental Flipper for a 3-Year-Old

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My three year old had a fall which resulted in them losing one of their front teeth. I’ve heard it is important not to leave empty spaces in their mouths so I asked our pediatric dentist to give him a dental flipper. He literally laughed at me and told me “not to be silly.” I can assure you that I won’t be returning there. However, I am still worried about my son. I’ve looked online and can only find them adult sized. Can you point me in the right direction?

Aimee

Dear Aimee,

I am sorry you were treated so poorly by your son’s dentist. I can completely understand why you want to find a new pediatric dentist to take care of your son. One important part of pediatric dental care is being able to communicate well with the parents of your patients. They are, after all, their children and worry very much about every aspect of their lives.

The information you have about not leaving empty spaces in children’s mouths is partially correct. For most teeth, it is not a problem because their adult teeth won’t take very long to erupt and fill in that space. Their back molars, however, are the danger. Those have to stay in their place until they are around twelve-years-old when their adult molars will come in.

If they do end up having an infected tooth which makes it impossible to keep their molar, then there are space maintainers that your son’s dentist should place there to keep the space guarded until the proper time.

Even if the front tooth were a worry, a dental flipper would not be a good option. They are removable, which means they are a choking hazard. Plus, he’s not likely to keep it in unless he is the world’s most responsible toddler.

The good news is that you don’t have to worry about this tooth. Before you know it, his “big boy” tooth will be there.
I hope this puts your mind at ease.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentist Dr. DeJean.