Pediatric Partials: New Teeth for Children
At Willow Pass Dental Care Pediatric Department, we make sure to offer our patients the option of having pediatric partials. Tooth loss, or edentulism, isn’t a problem reserved only for older adults. Instead, it affects all age groups, young or old.
Whether as a result of trauma, playground accident, or dental decay, even toddlers and children may need a tooth or two extracted and replaced from time to time. In fact, tooth loss in early childhood is quite normal. For children between the ages of 2 to 8 still awaiting the emergence of their permanent teeth, traditional solutions, such as dental implants, are completely impractical and unnecessary. Instead, for young children, the path to new teeth are pediatric partials.
Parents of young children with missing teeth should consult with Willow Pass Dental Care to see if pedi-partials are the right solution for their children.
What Are Pediatric Partials (or Pedi-Partials)?
Pediatric partials are the dentist-recommended solution for missing teeth in toddlers and young children between the ages of 2 to 8 years old. For kids, traditional solutions simply won’t do.
Instead, pediatric partials give dentists and parents a dental solution designed for a toddler’s mouth and only intended to temporarily replace a child’s deciduous teeth until their permanent teeth can fully erupt.
Pediatric partials, like adult partials, are custom-crafted prosthetic devices that replace missing teeth. Unlike their adult counterparts, pedo-partials are designed to be temporary. They are only needed until a young patient’s permanent teeth come in. They are not intended to replace secondary adult dentition. As a result, pedi-partials are also simpler in design, less expensive to fabricate, and designed for easy fitting and replacement.
Pedi-partials can come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the individual needs of the young patient. Typically, partials will be fabricated from an acrylic material which can have excellent aesthetics. Sometimes, the metal will also be employed to either reinforce the prosthetic or help secure it in a patient’s mouth.
Pedi-partials are removable or fixed. Removable partials can be easily removed and replaced. They can also be easily removed and misplaced by a child. Fixed pedi-partial, on the other hand, are held in place by a metal band that is usually held in place by an existing molar. Fixed pedi-partials also act as space maintainers and can be employed with or without an artificial tooth component for aesthetic purposes.
The process of designing, fabricating, and fitting a pediatric partial is virtually the same as that employed for the production of adult partials.
First, a child is typically taken to a dentist, often times a licensed prosthodontist like Dr. Reza Khazaie, who will take an impression of the child’s inner mouth in order to create a mold. The preliminary mold is then processed with our in-house fabricator technology. This allows us to build and fit the prosthesis all in the same day.
Once the pedi-partial is fitted by Dr. Khazaie and all the necessary adjustments are made, the child is ready to go with a brand new set of teeth.
For those with fixed partials, the prosthetic is attached to the child’s existing permanent teeth, soldered, and secured in place. Fixed partial dentures are left in place until the permanent adult teeth begin to erupt. At that point, the child then returns to Willow Pass Dental Care to have the pedi-partials removed.
What Are the Benefits of Pediatric Partials?
The benefits of investing in pediatric partials for young children who are missing one or more teeth are enormous. Pedi-partials allow young children who have lost teeth early in their lives to continue to live, learn, and develop without the embarrassment and inconvenience of missing teeth.
5 Benefits of Pedi-Partials
- Help maintain aesthetics
- Help maintain teeth spacing and combat dental drift
- Help guide eruption of permanent teeth
- Aids in child speech development
- Aids everyday eating, biting, and chewing
Pediatric Partials Key for Child Development
Pediatric partials can serve an important role in a child’s early physical, emotional, and social development. One significant reason for young children and toddlers to get pedi-partials prior to the eruption of their adult teeth is to help guide and ensure that those secondary teeth erupt correctly and without complications.
Fixed pedi-partials help maintain the spacing of the teeth in a child’s mouth while waiting for their adult dentition. Preventing existing teeth from drifting or previously erupted teeth from blocking the eruption of other teeth ensures a healthy oral structure as a child’s teeth and mouth mature.
Replacing missing teeth also aids chewing, biting, and eating which promotes adequate nutritional intake. Partials are not only important for a child’s physical growth, they can also have important emotional and social benefits as well. Providing young children with aesthetically pleasing replacement teeth can give them the confidence and self-esteem necessary to thrive in school and to interact productively with their peers. The boost in a self-confidence that partials can provide school-age children is often the deciding factor for many parents who are unsure about providing their children with prosthetics at such a young age.
Pedi-partials also improve a child’s ability to enunciate correctly at a time in their lives when the development of essential language skills is taking place. Adequate physical oral structures in place, such as a full set of teeth, are essential for effective communication.
Considering pedi-partials? Schedule a consultation with Dr. Reza Khazaie of Willow Pass Dental Care in Concord, CA. We provide a full range of pediatric and family dental services. Schedule a consultation by calling 925-326-6114 or complete our online form below to schedule an appointment. We look forward to serving you.
