Impacted & Missing Teeth

Impacted Teeth

An impacted tooth is a tooth that fails to grow into the mouth for various reasons. Impactions can be caused by improper positioning of the developing tooth bud. Early loss of primary teeth or crowding of the permanent teeth can also cause impactions. Wisdom teeth are the most commonly impacted teeth, but canines and premolars are also occasionally impacted.

This problem should be corrected because it can:

cause damage to the root structure of adjacent teeth
interfere with the sinus cavity
leave unwanted spaces
lead to improper chewing function
lead to cyst development
case asymmetric alignment of the teeth

How can impacted teeth be orthodontically corrected?

Usually, a space must be made in the mouth with braces for the impacted tooth. If it does not then erupt on its own, it will need to be exposed by an oral surgeon and over the course of several months, moved orthodontically into the correct position in the mouth. Some impacted teeth are not salvageable and must be extracted.

Missing Teeth

The condition of missing teeth is simply the absence of a tooth or teeth that should normally be present. This is usually a genetic issue, but occasionally teeth are lost due to trauma.

This problem should be corrected because it can:

cause improper functioning of teeth
cause premature wear of teeth
cause asymmetric alignment of the teeth
make your smile less attractive

How can missing teeth be orthodontically corrected?

Depending upon the situation, the space can be either be closed with braces or opened for tooth replacement. If necessary, your dentist can make a bridge or dental implant to replace the missing tooth after braces are finished.

Impacted & Missing Teeth

To provide you with a better understanding of impacted and missing teeth, we have provided the following multimedia presentation.

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