Impacted Canines

Treat With Exposure & Bonding

The canines are the pointy teeth near the front of the mouth, which are vital for biting and tearing food. They have some of the longest and strongest roots of any human teeth. Canines are also critical to the development of your overall bite and the alignment of your other teeth. Unfortunately, canines are more likely to become impacted than other teeth. Impacted teeth are trapped partially or fully beneath the gums, either due to structures blocking the growth track or other problems.

Oral surgeons and orthodontists can help prevent and treat impacted teeth. At MOSA Oral Maxillofacial & Dental Implant Surgery, Dr. Michael Lewis, Dr. Ryan Lloyd, or Dr. Andre LaMothe can perform a variety of treatments, such as exposure and bonding, to help guide impacted teeth into their proper position. We work with patients of all ages at our offices in Monterey, Salinas, and Santa Cruz, CA, and look forward to providing you and your family with an exemplary oral surgery experience.

Why Do Teeth Become Impacted?

As a child grows, the permanent teeth erupt at different ages. It is important to make sure normal eruption occurs for incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. There are a few reasons teeth can become impacted. Some reasons teeth become unable to erupt include:

• Overcrowding or a lack of adequate space for teeth to grow in
• Cysts, growths, or other unusual structures blocking the tooth’s path
• Baby teeth not falling out in time for secondary teeth to come in

Early Detection and Prevention

An exam with a dentist or oral surgeon can help to diagnose impacted teeth. In fact, having regular dental exams before adult teeth grow in (between ages 7 and 10) can help prevent them from becoming impacted. An oral exam tracking the progress of canine teeth beneath the gums must involve a panoramic X-ray or 3D scan to determine the exact location of the teeth. If the growth track is blocked and the teeth cannot erupt naturally, a dentist, orthodontist, and/or oral surgeon will help you find treatment, depending on your needs.

Treating Impacted Teeth

Impacted teeth have a higher risk of causing infection, and if not treated promptly, they can become stuck in the gums. The right treatment for impacted teeth will depend on the reason the canines won’t emerge and the developmental stage of your teeth. Below, we’ve outlined a few of the different treatments available depending on your situation:

• If adjacent teeth are blocking the path of the teeth, sometimes orthodontia alone (such as braces) can clear the path for growth. When the surrounding teeth are out of the way, sometimes the teeth will come through on their own.
• When overdue baby teeth are keeping the adult teeth from erupting normally, extracting the baby teeth and exposing the adult teeth can allow them to grow in.
• If your adult teeth have been trapped behind the gums for too long (past age 11 or 12), they probably will not grow in on their own, even if the growth track is cleared. As the roots of the teeth develop, they fuse with the bone, creating a more secure hold. In these cases, exposure and bonding may save the teeth. Your oral surgeon will expose the impacted tooth from beneath the gums and attach a tiny bracket and chain to each tooth. Then, your orthodontist will use the tiny chain with your existing braces to pull the tooth into position gently.
• If impacted canine teeth go untreated well into the teen years and early adulthood, the roots of the teeth will develop fully while trapped beneath the gums, making it impossible for the teeth to emerge. If this is the case, the impacted teeth can be extracted by an oral surgeon and replaced with dental implants. Our oral surgeons are experts at dental implant placement, and we will do everything possible to save your natural teeth before discussing other treatment options.