As a parent, you want the best for your child’s oral health, and sometimes that means considering dental implants. But can kids get dental implants? In the following video, Dr. Alaa Abou Laban will answer that question and provide valuable insights into pediatric dental implant procedures.
Accidents do happen, especially when you’re a kid. Children mess around and play, which frequently results in broken or missing teeth. You’ve probably heard a lot about dental implants because they’re the most effective way of restoring missing or damaged teeth. Although dental implants are an excellent option to restore a person’s smile, can kids get dental implants? The simple answer is ‘No”. Tooth implants are only appropriate for adults because children’s jaws are not fully grown. Let’s look more closely at why tooth implant for kids is not suggested.
Why does a ‘tooth implant for kids’, not an ideal choice?
Children’s oral structures begin to form as they develop. All children go through a transition stage in which all of their baby teeth are replaced by adult teeth. This is a natural process that may take years to complete. Because of all of these changes in a child’s oral development, dental implants are not an ideal choice of tooth replacement for children.
Why dental implants are only for adults?
A dental implant is composed of three major components: an implant post, which resembles a small screw, a porcelain crown, and an abutment, which connects the crown to the post. The titanium implant is surgically implanted into the jawbone, where it fuses with the surrounding bone over time, keeping it securely in place for years to come and providing the strength to support the prosthetic teeth. Because the implant must be placed in a dense healthy mass of formed bone tissue for it to be successful, it is not ideal for placement in a child’s developing jaw.
If a kid gets a dental implant, it could disturb the transitional period when baby teeth are replaced by adult teeth, causing significant discomfort. Second, the dental implant would most likely fail because the developing bone mass in the child’s jaw would most likely induce osseointegration failure (the process where the bone fuses with the titanium post).
At what age, a child can expect to get dental implants in Dubai?
Dental implants are typically an excellent option for children once their jaw has reached maturity. There is a range of ages at which people will finish growing their jaw bones. By the age of 15, on average, the female jaw is fully developed, whereas the male jaw develops two years later, at the age of 17, on average.
What are the alternative options for children with missing teeth?
Since tooth implants are not for kids and teenagers, a good pediatric dentist will suggest a few other options that are worthwhile considering. One good alternative for kids is dentures. Full dentures can replace a complete row of teeth, while partial dentures can only replace a few teeth.
Dentures are a popular option for replacing missing teeth because they seem natural and let wearers eat and drink whatever they want. Dentures can be cared for in the same way as real teeth. With dentures, you can brush, floss, and take any other usual oral hygiene precautions.
The other alternative that most dentists would suggest to a patient in their teen years is ‘bridges’. They genuinely fill the spaces left by missing teeth. One or more prosthetic teeth linked to crowns make up a bridge. They appear normal and won’t prevent someone from eating, drinking, engaging in physical activity, or grinning.
Bottom Line
To put it simply, children are not ideal candidates for dental implants as their jaws are in the transition phase. Therefore, tooth implant for kids is not suggested and only adults can expect to get dental implants since their jaws have stopped developing.
The first question a teen or parent of a teen should ask a dentist is whether dental implants are an option. If not, consider whether dentures or bridges are the solutions that best fit your needs in terms of price and lifestyle. Make sure you comprehend every detail before committing to these solutions because they do have some drawbacks. Remember that unless you have a more permanent therapy, these may only be temporary fixes.
