My son got 4 of his back teeth pulled he has to get spacers. What are spacers?

Answer 1

You may be refering to a "space maintainer", it is a small metal appliance, or aparatus that (used when a baby tooth is extracted early) keeps the space open, while waiting for the permanant tooth to errupt. It is used to prevent the teeth from shifting closing that space and thus, cause crowding of the permanant teeth.

Or you may be refering to "orthodontic spacers", which are small rubber circles placed inbetween the molar teeth (back teeth) for about a week, to open areas where a ortho band will be placed. It aids in the comfort of placing the bands for the patient by creating a space between the molor teeth.

So if your child is getting ortho it's the later, and if it's baby teeth that were extracted, it's the first. Hope I was of some help. Good luck!

Answer 2

My daughter had a spacer put in when she was 5-the dentist was filling a back tooth cavity and the tooth broke-so he had to pull the tooth. The spacer was a metal piece that attached to the way back tooth and then a smaller metal piece ran from-across the area where the tooth that was pulled had been and then sat up against the next tooth. This spacer was to keep the teeth from shifting and to make sure that "Space" where the tooth was pulled from stayed open so her permanent tooth could eventually come through!!

Answer 3

Spacers are put in when a baby tooth is prematurely lost to hold the space until the permanent tooth comes in. Otherwise the other teeth will naturaly shift into the open space making it tough for the erupting permanent tooth to come in nicely.

Other spacers are put in before you get braces on--those are the little rubber band type that the dentist uses to make a small space in between teeth so they can mount the brace brackets.

Answer 4

There is a space maintainer, that keeps teeth from drifting where they are not supposed too. It's a band around a tooth with a wire attached that spans across the hole the dentist or orthodontist wants left open to rest against the tooth on the other side of the hole.

http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/space_maintainer.htm

Then there's orthodontic spacers, which are tiny rubber o's that go in the interproximal area in front of and behind molars. They make space so that the molar band will slide easily on the teeth the day the braces are placed.

http://www.archwired.com/spacers.htm

Answer 5

Spacers are help the teeth shift and open the gap in order to put those metal things in there that will tighten the braces. I had them put in for braces. They can be painful for a while, have advil on hand. Best of luck

Answer 6

Assuming that your son is getting braces, spacers are little rubbery plastic rings inserted between teeth to separate them to allow room for the braces to be mounted.

Answer 7

huh... i'm surprised by everyone else's answers, as much sense as theirs makes. ..when i had spacers put in, it was a sort of permanent retainer. the metal part was actually attached to the back 2ish teeth in the top row, and had a metal dome in between.. presumably to keep the far teeth from curving inward? ..when they were taken out, the teeth they were attached to had to go

wasn't painful, and wasn't visible to the public. and didn't interfere with speech. i think i had it from 8 to 9 or 10 years old or some such

Answer 8

they are little metal things that go in your teeth to make more space for when you get your braces put on.,could be painful depends on your pain tolerance.