Can you tell me why a toddler can’t get a dental flipper? I have a two year old who knocked out one of his front teeth. He’s only had that tooth for barely a year. I’ve read that children’s teeth shift if they fall out too soon, so I wanted to get a dental flipper in order to keep the other teeth where they should be, but my dentist has completely nixed the idea saying that toddlers cannot have a flipper. Why is that?
Annie
Dear Annie,
I am very glad you wrote. Being a parent is incredibly hard. We worry about our children even before they are born. It doesn’t stop when they become adults either. I can tell you are a good parent who is trying to stay informed. When it comes to teeth which have to stay in for their complete lifecycle, it is actually only the back teeth where that matters. Those molars need to stay in place until your son is around twelve years old.
If one of those teeth have to come out because of a dental emergency such as a serious tooth infection, then it will be important that a space maintainer is placed there in order to hold the space open. Otherwise, as you read, the other teeth will drift or tip into the open space. This will lead to overcrowding when his twelve year old molars do come in. Overcrowding means expensive orthodontics. You don’t have that worry with front teeth, so your son should be fine.
I do wish your son’s dentist would have explained why a dental flipper was a bad idea. A good pediatric dentist understands that parents need information in order to make good informed decisions. The problems with a dental flipper for a toddler is two fold. First, it is removable. That means it is unlikely your son will keep it in. Plus, it will be a choking hazard for him. The second issue is that he is constantly growing. This means you would have to repeatedly replace the flipper to fit him.
Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about that because losing a front tooth is no problem at all.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.