Impacted Canines
/By DR. DREW DARSEY
Did you know that braces have a few different uses? Braces are commonly thought of as “tooth straighteners”, which they are, but they also have another use – to assist in guiding teeth that are stuck in the bone into the mouth. This is the definition of an impacted tooth = a tooth that is stuck and cannot erupt into the mouth on its own. The canine/ “eye-tooth” is actually the 2nd most prone to impaction in the mouth and sometimes needs help coming in. This usually happens because of the direction that it started to develop or because it doesn’t have the appropriate amount of room to be able to come in. Here’s a Fun Fact: The tooth most prevalent to have eruption problems is the 3rd molar “wisdom tooth”.
Sometimes an impacted or “stuck” tooth can be fixed by making room in the arch for this tooth to erupt on its own (using springs on the braces wires to make enough room). Other times, the tooth requires a minor surgery done by an oral surgeon. This procedure consists of exposing the tooth in the bone and attaching a gold chain to the impacted tooth so that it can be guided into the mouth in the correct direction towards the wire.
Another Fun Fact: 2/3rds of canines are impacted on the palate side of the arch and 1/3rd of them are located on the lip side of the arch. Often these impacted teeth cannot be helped until the roots are developed enough to be moved in the right direction. However, early identification of these teeth starting to get stuck can help in preventing it from happening. If the patient gets too old, there is a chance that this tooth can fuse to the bone and will never be able to be brought into the mouth. This is another reason that addressing the problem early is important. Therefore, it is crucial to stay on top of your routine dental appointments so that your dentist can observe the eruption of the teeth by x-ray and let you know when you should have an orthodontic consultation to address any stubborn “problem” teeth.
Dr. Lindhorst, Dr. Darsey, Dr. Theriot, Dr. Rodgers and the Heights Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics Team