Prevalence of Space Maintainers as A Treatment Modality in Maxillary Arch among Children between the Age Group of 6 to 12 Years- A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Early loss of primary teeth can affect the arch length and thereby lead to malocclusion. Space maintainerswere introduced to effectively maintain the space after a premature tooth loss. This study aims to assess theprevalence of various space maintainers provided in the maxillary arch among children aged 6 to 12 yearsand describes the trends in the use of space maintainers to bring about better understanding about theseappliances. The patient records from June 2019-April 2020 of children who underwent space maintainertherapy in maxillary arch were selected by non- probability sampling. Data was collected and exported tothe Statistical package for social science for windows (SPSS version 20.0,IL,Chicago,USA) for analysis.The results of the study showed that among the space maintainers provided, Band and loops (51.6%) werecommonly used followed by Groper’s appliance (27.4%). The rarely provided space maintainers wereTranspalatal arch (1.6%). The use of space maintainers in the maxillary arch had a male predominance(62.9%). The age of the children for whom space maintainers were commonly provided were 8 year olds(53.2%). Age and type of the space maintainer given was found to have no strong association (p=0.264,p>0.005).The study draws attention to the fact that space maintainers are widely used in Paediatric dentistry asa part of preventive orthodontics. In this study, Band and loop space maintainers were prevalent. Maledominance was observed and use of space maintainers especially in the age of 8 years was common. Therewas no association between age and the type of space maintainers used. Extensive research based on spacemaintainers and the dentist’s preferences and skill regarding the same has to be done. Alternatives for thecurrent space maintainers have to be found to overcome their drawbacks .