Temporary Dental Implant for Children with Missing Teeth

From Missing Teeth to a Perfect Smile: How Temporary Dental Implants Can Help Your Child

If you have any of these questions or concerns, please continue reading this article: 

• My child lost his front tooth, what are my options?
• How common is dental implant in children? 
• My child was born with missing teeth, can we replace them with templants? 

Normal kids are active in their early life.  They always try new things and explore challenges.  This is very important to build their self-esteem and make themselves familiar with the future life.
However, this process does not come at a free price tag. Trauma in the face is common among children and can affect the face, gums, bone, and teeth. The affected teeth might get broken, displaced,  loosened and even knocked out.

What happens if my child loses his front tooth from an accident? 

While losing a front tooth is frustrating for both the child and the parents, management depends on the age of the child. 

1. If the child lost a baby tooth, then the permanent tooth will replace that missing tooth in most cases. The dentist should take an X-ray of the area to make sure the permanent tooth was not affected. 
2. If the child lost an adult permanent tooth, then things will get little more complicated as what option is the best to replace that tooth. 

What are the options to replace a permanent missing tooth for my child? 
The most common options to replace a missing tooth are:    

1. A fixed dental appliance with a fake tooth attached to it. This appliance is cemented to the adjacent teeth and will be placed temporarily till the child finishes his growth. 
2.  A dental flipper is also an option to replace missing teeth. The dentist has to make a mold and the lab will fabricate an flipper with the missing tooth. It might be made from Acrylic “Hard” or Valplast “ Flexible Acrylic”
3. A Maryland bridge also has been used to replace front missing teeth for children. It is a resin bonded bridge that uses the adjacent teeth to get support without the need to prepare the adjacent teeth. Cases like deep bite might not be suitable to get a Maryland bridge.  

However, with the development of temporary dental implants TADs, a new minimal-invasive option was introduced for these growing patients with excellent and stable results. This technique was introduced by Dr. Jason cope in 2003 and advanced by the work of Dr. Kanaan and others since 2007. The term Templants was introduced in 2016 to describe a temporary implant that could be placed in a growing child. 

What is a Templant? 

Templant is a safe, non-invasive solution for your child's missing front tooth /teeth. Dr. Kanaan is highly experienced in this field and is committed to providing the best possible temporary solution for your child's dental needs. With Templant, It is easy to install and remove and your child can get their smile back in one visit.

What are the disadvantages of a front tooth flipper for my child? 

1. As your child is growing, the flipper needs to be adjusted or replaced to accommodate the changes of growth in the children mouth. 
2. The flipper also needs to be replaced if the flipper has support from the baby teeth and these baby teeth are lost. 
3. There is a learning curve on how to get used to the flipper and how to maintain it and keep it clean.
4. Your child might lose the flipper accidentally. This is a burden on both the parents and the child as the parents has to pay for a new flipper and child has to stay toothless will getting the new flipper from his dentist. 
5. The flipper is a big challenge for orthodontist during braces treatment as it will interfere with the orthodontic wire and other appliance. 

What are the advantages of Templant over a front tooth flipper for my child?

A dental Templant has many advantages over a front tooth flipper. 

1. The Templant has a screw that is fixed in the bone. There is less risk of losing the tooth as it might happen with the flipper.
2. The screw of the Templant will help to preserve the bone in the missing tooth area. As the child chew on the Templant crown, forces is transmitted to the bone helping to stimulate the bone around the screw.  
3. The Templant crown will help to maintain the gum and gingival tissue. We all know that our gum will recede with the loss of the tooth. Early replacement of the tooth while the child is growing will minimize the potential for gum loss “ will maintain the gingival papilla” 
4. Better self-esteem for the child as he does not have to remove it while playing or taking it out to brush it and clean it as is needed with the flipper. 
5. No training and minimal adjustment in growing patient. 
6. Can accept easily the option of clear and  wires retainer after orthodontic treatment and is better than a retainer for missing teeth.

How to Choose the Right Dental Implant For Your Child ? 

Because children are growing, their bone can’t accept an implant designed for adults. These adult implants are treated to get integrated permanently into the bone and must have a certain width. However, the newly deigned implants for children are not treated and will not integrate with the bone. Their width must be less than 2 mm and they accept wither an acrylic or a ceramic crown. 

Why can’t my child get an implant or a bridge for his missing tooth? 

To get a permanent implant, bone must be stable and mature. Children are always growing in the 3 dimensions and any growth will affect the implant position and look. That is why you might have heard your dentist mentioning the age of 19-20 for girls and 20-21 for boys as a minimum age to safely get an implant. .

My child keeps losing his flipper teeth, is he a candidate for a Templant?
A dental templant is designed to replace permanent teeth while your child is growing. Even boys at the age of 18 can qualify to get a templant. 

How long have you been placing templants? 
Dr. Kanaan has been placing templans since 2007. We have a high success rate, and our patients love and enjoy their hassle free Templants as a temporary replacement of their missing teeth. 
There is no need to adjust the templant, unless the child is younger than 12 years old. Then Dr. Kanaan might need to adjust it once or twice to accommodate your child growth.