Can My Child Get a Dental Implant?

Dental implants are great restorations. They've completely revolutionized the way people restore their smile. No longer is anyone limited to wearing a bulky partial or slippery denture.

Does this mean that an implant is equally as beneficial for kids? You're probably wondering this if your child has managed to knock out an adult tooth.

Dental Implants are great for a number of reasons:

• Preserve shape of the smile
• Suitable for an active social life
• Strong enough to eat comfortably with
• Secure

Let's review how implants work.

An implant is a metal screw that fills in the gap where a tooth used to be and acts just like a tooth root. The implant supports a dental crown and is intended to be a permanent restoration.

Now, kids' mouths are very dynamic structures. The jawbone is always growing (like every other part of your child) and this affects the alignment of the teeth. Your kid's teeth can move and adjust to compensate for the changing amount of space in the jaw.

But dental implants? No, they aren't meant to go anywhere.

Sticking a permanent implant in the middle of a still-developing set of teeth could create a lot of problems in terms of tooth alignment. That's why at Columbia Dental Center, you'll find that Dr. Leppo prefers to wait until teens are much older to place implants.

There are other options for temporarily filling in the gap and maintaining tooth alignment until your child is old enough to get an implant. Visit our Columbia dental office to learn more.

Posted on behalf of Columbia Dental Center