Sometimes children come to our office with a tooth that is either too sick to be restored or it is getting close to falling out. In these situations the cost or risk of saving the tooth simply does not make financial sense and extraction may be recommended. Extraction is a fancy word that means “pulling” or “wiggling” teeth. Baby teeth hold space for permanent teeth and if one is extracted early due to infection or another cause the risk of losing space needed for the adult tooth is high. Space loss can ultimately lead to tipping and crowding of permanent teeth which may lead to orthodontic or braces therapy in the future. If extraction is recommended the doctor may talk to you about placing a spacer. Spacers come in different shapes and sizes, but their main goal is to prevent the loss of space when missing key baby teeth.