A space maintainer is an appliance that consists of a metal ring attached to a tooth next to the where the baby tooth was taken out. Attached to the metal ring is a wire arm that extends forward to another tooth to maintain the space until the permanent tooth comes through.
Space maintainers are completed over two visits. The first visit involves using a special digital camera to scan into the computer a mould of the teeth and the space created by the missing tooth. The digital mould is e-mailed to a dental laboratory where the space maintainer is constructed.
At a second visit, the constructed space maintainer is then cemented onto the tooth.
