Fix Impacted Teeth
As you age from childhood to adulthood, your baby teeth loosen up, fall out and then your permanent adult teeth replace them. The adult teeth erupt from below the gumline and move up into the place of your missing tooth. Not everyone’s teeth erupt into straight lines or in the right place so that is where orthodontic treatments are most helpful. People can rely on braces or Invisalign to shift their teeth into the ideal bite position and avoid crowding.
Not everyone’s adult teeth erupt on their own and they remain where they developed in the jaw bone. The teeth that are stuck in the jaw bone are referred to as impacted teeth.
Why Does Tooth Impaction Happen?
The people who experience tooth impaction often struggle with tooth crowding. If the developed tooth does not have enough room on the jaw to erupt, it will remain in the jawbone. The different degrees of impactions indicate where the tooth is. A full impaction is when the tooth does not erupt at all and a partial impaction is where the top of the tooth hits the gumline but fails to grown into place completely.
Teeth Lost In The Gums
In most instances, people know impacted teeth in reference to wisdom teeth. Few people have room on their jaws for the extra set of molars. Wisdom teeth can be crooked or even completely sideways, which can threaten the health of your second molars closest to the problematic wisdom teeth.
The other most common teeth to be impacted are the upper canine teeth. These teeth tend to be impacted if other people in your family have experienced impacted canines as well so there is a genetic component. It is more common for one canine to be affected but some people have two impacted canine teeth. The teeth on either side of the canines tend to come in before so the placement of the incisors and premolars do not leave enough room for the canines.
Symptoms And Complications Of Impacted Teeth
Depending on the person and the tooth that is affected, the person has no symptoms of an impacted tooth other than the tooth not erupting. In the case of a canine tooth failing to erupt, the baby tooth may even fail to loosen and fall out without provocation from the dentist. In order for you to have a balanced smile and bite, canine teeth are essential. They are helpful in chewing because they are structurally stronger with their long roots which in turn protects the surrounding teeth.
Complications and symptoms of impacted teeth start with an uneven and move on to pushing neighboring teeth beneath your gums. Impacted teeth can cause cavities, infections, gum disease, and even nerve damage from improperly placed pressure. As a result, you could have halitosis, pain, a tender jaw, prolonged headaches, prolonged jaw aches, swollen gums, aggravated lymph nodes, a bad taste in your mouth, gaps between teeth or a combination of any of the above.
Treatment: A Place For Every Tooth
You may not be able to prevent impacted teeth, but the dentist may need to remove the impacted tooth. Many people address their impacted wisdom teeth by having them removed. Other people may need oral surgery followed by orthodonic treatment to move the teeth into the proper place.