Dental Implants Manchester – Are They Suitable For Kids?

10 August 2026

Dental Implants Manchester – Are They Suitable For Kids?

Although dental hygiene for children is key to making sure that teeth remain healthy, there are times when children are born with congenitally missing molars. According to recent research this condition affects around 0.5% of the UK population. As a rule when a deciduous (baby) tooth is missing, the adult replacement will also be absent. This being the case, are children eligible for dental implants? Manchester-based Church Road Dental and Cosmetics have the answer…

While many parents in Manchester seek help, to straighten their children’s teeth, this type of treatment clearly won’t work on those with congenitally missing teeth. However as dental implants are the most lifelike, permanent, and advanced form of missing teeth replacement that modern dentistry allows, it seems a logical step to replace the missing gap with a dental implant. The problem that dental implants aren’t suitable for children. Here’s why…

As a child grows so to do their bones. Therefore if a dental implant is permanently fixed into a child’s jaw before the jaw is fully grown, it can first of all impede that jaw growth and secondly it may also stop other teeth from growing into their natural positions.

So what’s the solution?

Let’s face it there probably aren’t too many pre-teens or teenagers who are happy to walk around with missing teeth. Aside from sapping confidence it might lead others to think that they aren’t  carrying out proper dental hygiene. For children who suffer from congenitally missing teeth, it’s understandable that they may feel pretty miserable unless something is done. Thankfully there is an effective solution.

The first stage is to make a denture consisting of just one tooth. This will fill the area where the lost molar (tooth) was. As the surrounding adult teeth grow, this ensures that the remaining natural teeth don’t start gravitating towards the gap and become crooked. The child should be able to wear this happily until such times as the jaw bone is fully developed. This is thought to be around 14-15 in girls and 16-17 in boys.

Once the jaw and adult teeth have reached full maturity and there’s no chance of any problems being caused to surrounding teeth, the dentist will look to replace the temporary denture with a permanent  children may have this procedure carried out at any one of a number of private dental practices. However because it’s classed as a congenital oral defect there’s a strong chance that the procedure can be carried out on the NHS. This is something you will need to talk to them about.

If you’d like to speak to a professional about how dental implants Manchester can help teenagers restore their confidence and bring back their great looking smile; or you’d like to speak to us about Hulme orthodontics or  why not book a free no obligation consultation today. To make an appointment either visit our website where you canor contact us directly on 0161 486 0743