My 5 year old storm baby went to the dentist for a pain in her tooth she had over the weekend. Poor kid, it was infected and so they pulled it out. They found 3 cavities and said she needed a tooth filed down and a cap placed over a nerve along with a spacer put in to hold the spot of the tooth they took out till it comes in.
Her top first molar is the one that was infected and extracted.
Are spacers for children always needed?
Right from the get to the idea of the spacer bothered me. I couldn’t put my finger on why though. After some research and talking to others about it this is what I have come up with so far.
- The very back molars are primarily responsible for spacing in the mouth so removing the one she has had taken out should be ok.
- The risk is that there might be crowding issues in her mouth requiring braces later, if she has her fathers teeth then she will need braces anyway!
- I read that spacers are only 30% effective. However I can’t seem to find a good source for that number.
Risks using Spacers
- I have read of children having pain that doesn’t go away
- Long term eating issues
- Speech issues
- headaches
- Metal Mercury toxicity is the big one though!
This is said to be worse when it goes in and if it has to come out and spacers have to come out! There are many many risks with the “silver” fillings that most of us are not aware of. This is more than a little filling too, it is a lot of metal. These kinds of fillings are banned on some countries already and should be in ours as well I think.
We chose not to have spacers put into our child’s mouth.
I am just not convinced that the risks are worth it in this case. I am happy to the $200 per cavity to have ceramic put in, it is a lot more than the metal costs but worth it. There is no non-metal alternative though for spacers or we would be happy to pay the increased price.
Our dear cousin/sister had this to say about the situation:
If it helps, I had a back molar pulled when I was 6 and there was no such thing as a spacer. I had that hole forever until one day it was filled!!!! And I am accused of having braces because my teeth are very straight but I never have 🙂
Truly… I just don’t think that spacer is worth the time, money, and pain. Especially if you believe she will braces anyways. Brandon had a side tooth pulled about a year ago, he was 8 and our AMAZING German dentist said to not even bother for the reasons already mentioned:) hope this helps 🙂
In the end, I don’t think she needs the spacer. As the current dentist does not specialize in children and referred us out for the rest of the work I think we will call around. Hopefully find a dentist that is open to doing things as toxin free as possible!
Dental Magic: Tricks and Tips for Stress-Free Kids’ Dental Visits
Update 2018: Our daughter has had a few more teeth pulled over the years and we still opted for no spacers. We didn’t feel they were worth the risk. We learned also that she has MTHFR and that can cause issues with the laughing gas but she always did well with it. Not sure we would risk that again however. As for her teeth, we always knew she would need braces and that in fact is still true. We do not think the lack of spacers from what her dentists says would have made this better or worse. Glad we skipped the spacers!
We are just now learning about holistic dental care and wish we had known years before!
Update 2020 — Our little stormbaby is now 12 and as predicted she needs braces. This was always going to be the case though! I get a lot of messages asking for updates and soon as we start braces I will check back here. We are still glad we skipped the three spacers!
It sounds like the spacer is just another way for the dentist to make extra money. I think that unless it is a permanent tooth that you don’t need spacers.
I think that if there was no expectation already of braces being needed in the future that we might further consider it but the toxic nature of them right now is just too big an issue to look past.
My son had upper and lower spacers put in yesterday. They will be removed tomorrow – they would have been removed today, but it is Sunday and the ER doesn’t have the tools, his dentist isn’t open, and I do not have the money for an emergency dental visit on a Sunday night. He is six, and I have never seen him in this much pain. He has had pain relievers every 4 hours since getting them put in, has barely eaten, and he can’t talk. On top of it the spacer popped off the tooth on one side, has cut the other side of his tongue, and his upper gums have been bleeding on and off. He is a tough little boy, but this is way too much and I went against my better judgment and had them put on. First thing tomorrow morning, they are coming out!
My son is 6 also and just had a spacer put in on bottom 2nd to last molar, and I’m so upset about it! The fact that this is suppose to be in his mouth for 4+ years doesn’t seem right or even possible. I had a bad feeling about it from the beginning..
I am so glad to see that other moms feel this way. My 8 year old is at the dentist now with my husband getting a molar pulled and the dentist tried to convince on the spacer. My husband and I said “no way” but when I researched other sites, other moms were saying the spacer was necessary and made me feel like I was not a good mom!! I also didn’t know about the health risks and pain my son would be in 🙁
Thanks so much and may God bless you all!
I am having the same delema with my 7 yesr old daughter. She had the same tooth extracted and we are not convinced the spacer os necessary. Especially after the dentist told use about the bonding cement and sealant which release bpa and the other toxicities related to having a metal spacer. But of course i feel likr a bad mom if i don’t it. It seems she is destined for braces anuwau so what is the use? I’d love to know what you all decided and how it is turning out thus far!
Our daughter actually just had to have 6 more baby teeth pulled. So far all her adult teeth coming in have been wonderful and nothing looks “off” on her x-rays. We are going to keep holding off on spacers because so far so good and the toxins are just not worth it. That could change. We have moved and gone through three dentists since the spacer issue came up and her last one didn’t think the risk was really worth it either. Her current dentist is ok with our wait and see plan as more of her adult teeth come in! I have been researching this now for a while and have yet to hear anyone say they wish they had gotten the spacer.
Thanks for sharing this, and also everyone for their comments, my 7 year old had some faulty dental work done out of the country which caused two of his molars to get abscess which had to be pulled out, we unfortunately already paid for the whole treatment ahead of time, out of pocket but the spacers never felt like a good idea to me. I let myself get pressured by the dentist, but ultimately we have decided not to get them put it. Thanks for the support, it is great knowing we are not the only ones going through this!
I’m in the same boat. My son 9 has to either have three crowns put on the molars or get all three pulled out. We decided to go with getting them pulled out because of the metals. The dentist said that they are stainless steal and not toxic at all. But my husband and me prefer him getting it pulled out anyway especially since they would put him to sleep. (My son has a lot of anxiety and freaks out every time they mess with his mouth even for cleaning… So they called me today and told me that if we decide to get them pulled out he will still need to come in to have metal spacers in them. So either way he WILL have metals. That’s the way it was put. So on here trying to research all this..
I am in the same boat. My daughter is going to get two teeth pulled on top. The dentist recommended she get spacers? So now that I heard about complaints of pain, I am iffy if she really needs them. I was told she would need braces when she’s older, so is it an issue if she doesn’t get them on?
My son is 6 and just recently has had to have two of his bottom right molars removed(both baby teeth) his adult molar next to those is now coming in. The paediatric dentist has suggested using a spacer because he needs to maintain the space of 2 teeth until he is around 10-12 years old when the adult teeth will com in. I am not sure what to do. I honestly don’t want to do it. But I also don’t want him to have problems later on. I am feeling so conflicted.
Our daughter is now 10 and no spacing issues yet! I am glad we skipped the spacers!
Omg same boat. 6 yr old daughter with 3 molars pulled. Medication/gas were used which is totally fine. However, since then the dentist keeps insisting we use gas to fill her little cavities, put sealant on, etc. and its $170 JUST for the gas. I didn’t grow up getting gas for every little thing and my daughter is pretty mature for her age so i think she can tough it out. What are we teaching our kids about life with all of this ‘let’s make them comfortable’ so they never have to experience one moment of pain or hardship. Well as we all know life doesn’t work that way so the faster kids learn that the better they will be able to cope. Now same dentist is pushing for all these spacers and she didn’t even really give me a good reason for them. I was so angry after the appt, I’m looking for a new dentist now. This site has been very helpful, my gut is telling me this whole thing is wrong. Half the kids teeth still need to come out, and you want me to pay thousands more and put her in unnecessary pain just so she ‘might’ not get crowding??? No thanks! I’ll get her braces if needed when shes 18 and her mouth is done growing. Total scheme
Did your daughters molars ever shift? My 5 year old just got a molar extracted, her permanent molar didn’t even come in yet but I’m worried her teeth will shift as we couldn’t do the spacer today
Thank you so much for this post! It has been most helpful and I feel much better about choosing not to do a spacer. A month ago my daughter had a top moler tooth extracted due to decay. They put a spacer in with that went across the roof of her mouth. It was AWFUL!!! She cried for two days and I just kept encouraging her that it would get better. But on the 3rd day I took a flash light and look at the roof of her mouth. The spacer had embedded in the roof of her mouth and was infected and swollen. I felt horrible. I made an emergency visit to the dentist and they removed it. Even removing it affected the other tooth that the spacer was connected to on the other side of her mouth and she cried and could not eat for almost a week. They said they would make some adjustments and to come back and have it put back in. My daughter has begged me not to do it again. Thank goodness for your post. I will NOT put the spacer back in.
I’m so glad to find your site. Exactly the same situation for my 7 yr old daughter. I took all metal out of my mouth lately, so I do not want to put any toxic material in my kid’s body. I declined “laughing gas” when extracting her tooth(she did just fine without it), and dentist was surprised. I’ve been declining sealant as well. What is it made out of?
Your information of “risk” and the picture is very convincing. I decided to go without spacer after reading other sites and yours. Thank you for great posting.
I will repeat what so many have said in that I am thankful for finding this forum. My daughters molar extraction is tomorrow and I will decline the spacer and schedule her for regular 6-month cleanings to monitor the teeth if they move.
7 yo about to have 4 teeth removed, dentist wants to put in spacers in case the 6year molar falls into the space. I just don’t feel comfortable. Also child needs fillings and they will use the composite, anyone have info on that?
I was so stressed about this. I felt horrible that my son had to have it pulled as he was so upset about this. I can’t even imagine how upset he would be putting in a spacer, he doesn’t even want to go see the dentist again. I am so glad I found this and will declined the spacer once they suggest again.
Thank you so much for posting this. I wish I had seen this sooner as my 6yr had a tooth pulled and spacer put in yesterday, I thought they were going to confirm spacer and put it later. (Denied laughing gas, he did fine). I had a bad feeling about this from the gate. Glad to know I’m not the only one who feels this way. My son is super paranoid its going to come out and he’s going swallow it. He’s asking often for me to check if it’s still there and scared to eat. Thinking were going to get this out sooner and we will both feel better.
Hi
My daughter just got a molar pulled today , she is 7 . Of course a space maintainer was recommended . How is your son doing? Did he get used to it? Do you regret it ? Thanks so much!
My daughter is rescheduled to have a spacer put in, in a few weeks due to her top adult teeth growing behind her baby teeth(they call this shark teeth). The pediatric dentist didn’t even give us a 2nd option, she just straight said a spacer was needed and then braces when she’s a little older. After reading all these forums, I’m beginning to wonder if I should just ask for the 2 baby teeth to be extracted. I’d rather not have my 7 year old in constant pain when there’s another option available.
Thank you so much for this information! My 6-yr old son has cavities in 3 quadrants and they want to do metal crowns on several and extract some. It sounds like I should just go for extracting the bad ones and work on the smaller cavities and hope they make it until they fall out…is that even possible to think they will last 4-5 more years?? Anyone with any experience on this would be so much appreciated!
Thank you so much . My daughter has exactly the same situation she is 6 and I won’t let the spacer to be put in ! Not only the metal but all the risk and trauma not worth it better we just monitor it ! I do t even think in at her countries they use spacer or crown for baby tooth lol !