Impacted Teeth
TREATMENTS FOR
Impacted Teeth
- What is it?
- Treatment Options
Teeth develop high in the jaw bone and must travel a long way to reach their correct location. Teeth sometimes get lost and become stuck against other teeth or other structures in your mouth. This condition is most frequent with the eye teeth.
Leaving an impacted tooth long term results in considerable damage to the adjacent teeth, cystic formation in the bone as well as eventual failure of the affected primary tooth.
Early detection and intervention (around 9-11) is very important. When diagnosed early, treatment can be as simple as an expander plate, or partial braces. Sometimes, it will be recommended to remove the primary tooth to encourage the impacted tooth to erupt correctly.
When diagnosed and treated later in life, treatment often involves exposure of the tooth and moving the impacted tooth into place using braces. Removal of the impacted tooth is not recommended, especially the upper eye teeth due to the tendency of bone resorption and a sunken facial profile in adult life.
Orthodontic Treatments
BUCKY TEETH
This often arises due to the lower jaw and lower teeth being set back.
CROWDING
This happens when there is not enough space in your mouth to fit all your teeth.
DOUBLE ROW TEETH
Erupting adult teeth can miss their primary tooth counterpart.
ECTOPIC TEETH
This refers to teeth that’s developed and erupted in the incorrect position.
IMPACTED TEETH
Teeth form deep within the jaw and journey far to find their proper place.
MISSING TEETH
Missing teeth are common, often it is the lateral incisors, or lower second molars.
TEETH SPACING
Spaced teeth trap food, is unaesthetic in the smile and often unstable as other teeth will shift into the gaps.
THUMB SUCKING
Prolonged thumb sucking into late childhood leads to permanent bite problems.