Aesthetic rehabilitation of a child with missing anterior teeth and thumb sucking habit using fixed functional space maintainer in combination with habit breaking appliance

Loss of anterior teeth is a psychological trauma both for parent as well as children. Children presenting with lost anterior teeth along with thumb sucking habit require not only attention for aesthetics, function and space maintenance but also an appliance for habit breaking. Depending on many clinical and economic factors, a course of treatment is decided by the dentist in consultation with parent and child. A new technique is presented in which a child with anterior teeth missing and concomitant “thumb sucking” habit was given a fixed functional space maintainer’ with incorporated palatal crib.