Will i need to put my child on a special diet while they wear space maintainers? my daughter is going to need space maintainers while her permanent teeth come in, and i'm worried about getting her to stick to a special diet while she wears them. is it kin

Ideally, : Ideally, it is best to avoid sticky foods and chewing gum while the space maintainers are in place. It is wise to limit sticky foods even without orthodontic appliances present, in order to help prevent decay. Otherwise, there is no real special diet to adhere to.

Those : Those spacers are remarkably resilient and they wont pop out until the space has developed that the orthodontist needs to place your bands. My recommendation is go go ahead an knock yourself out kid, eat what you like. It is the last chance you are going to get for 18 months. If your orthodontist has not mentioned anything about it I should not worry. If he has and you have forgotten, go back and ask him. I'd try the phone first! dr neil mcleod dds dentistry that lasts - quality that counts.

It : It is true that certain limitations in terms of the type of munchies she will be allowed, but in term of food, no specific diet will be needed. Don't worry she will get use to those space maintainers, and she will not suffer. ;-) good luck.

Good idea: Hard, sticky, chewy foods can dislodge space maintainers, resulting in cavities behind the metal bands. I know it's hard, but she will do best if she learns self discipline. Space maintainers always seem to come partially dislodged at the most inappropriate times. Better to be careful than to have that 2am on a holiday weekend emergency.