My daughter has two molars which have broken because of decay. Our dentist is recommending we remove her teeth. I don’t know if I should. I was told you don’t want to take out a child’s molars before they are twelve. She’s not quite six years old yet. What do you recommend?
Patty
Dear Patty,
You are correct in the fact that she needs her molars until she is about twelve. However, that isn’t an option at this point. Your daughter’s decay has gotten to the point that her teeth are broken. Occasionally, an infected molar in a child can be treated with a pulpotomy (a child’s version of a root canal treatment). Hers is too far gone.
What you’ll need to do at this point is to extract her broken teeth, but hold the space open as if her molars were still there. Your pediatric dentist can do that by placing space maintainers there.
Why You Need Space Maintainers
A child’s adult molars don’t come in until they are around twelve-years-old and their jaw is large enough to handle them. When their baby molars come out prematurely, that leaves an empty space for too long. The other teeth begin to shift into the open space. That results in crowding as the adult teeth are coming in.
If that happens your daughter will require expensive orthodontics in order to get her teeth into a proper functioning position. Getting a space maintainer, helps to prevent that.
This blog is brought to you by Parma Dentist Dr. Rebecca Gecovich.