Does Your Child Need Partial Dentures?
by Lillian Dixon
If your child does not have his or her front teeth due to an accident or extraction related to decay, you may be able to cover the gap with partial dentures. However, partial dentures are not right for every child. To see if you should consider them for your child, take yourself through the following questions:
1. Is your child going to get permanent teeth?
Children who have had teeth removed due to decay are eventually going to get their adult teeth. If your child has lost his or her front teeth due to trauma, he or she may have only lost the baby teeth. In other cases, your child may have lost the baby teeth as well as the adult teeth.
If your child is going to get adult teeth, you may want to just wait until those come. However, if he or she is never going to get adult teeth, you may want to consider partial dentures depending on your answers to the following questions.
2. Is your child having trouble with talking or eating?
The front teeth are an important part of the mouth for forming various sounds, and without them in place, your child may have trouble saying certain words. The adjustments your child makes to speak without his or her teeth in place may carry on through adulthood, and if he or she is having trouble speaking, you may want to consider partial dentures.
Talk with a speech therapist to see if your child's speech development is truly problematic or simply age appropriate mispronunciations. Then, talk with your dentist about partial dentures.
In other cases, problems eating such as not being able to bite into an apple may occur in a child missing front teeth. Talk with your dentist about these concerns as well.
3. Is your child ready to care for partial dentures?
Partial dentures, like full dentures, require a specific care routine. They should be removed at the end of the day and soaked. Children of most ages under 13 or 14 years will need some help maintaining their dentures, and when giving children under these ages dentures, you want to be sure they are ready to be partners in their care.
If brushing is a chore, and your child fights it every night, that is typically a sign he or she is not ready for dentures regardless of his or her age. However, if your child willingly brushes and understands the importance of dental hygiene, he or she may be ready to handle partial dentures.
Talk with your child and your dentist to decide what is right for your family. For more information, contact a business such as Emergency Denture Repairs.
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About Me
As a mum, I know how essential sport can be to children's development. Through team sports like soccer, kids learn persistence, sportsmanship and the value of supporting their team members. However, all that learning carries some risk as well, and a stray elbow or a ball to the face can result in oral injuries. I have been the mum rushing to the emergency room with a precious permanent tooth sitting in a cup of milk. Admittedly, at the time, I wasn't even sure if the cup of milk was the right solution. As a parent, you will face those situations, and I'm here to make sure you know what to do when they pop up. With this blog, let's explore children's dentistry and sports injuries together... I want you to have the info you need to stay cool, calm and collected, regardless of how many teeth are on the pitch.