Both my upper and lower canine teeth are still baby teeth. I recently removed the bottom ones, but now there is a space because the adult teeth came up behind them. I know I need to take the upper baby teeth out too, but I’m worried about there being a space there too. I’m a senior this year and will be taking my senior pictures. I don’t want to look ridiculous in my pictures. Could I just take them out and replace them with dental implants so I have teeth?
Penny
Dear Penny,
I am very surprised your dentist hasn’t taken care of this. We are taught in dental school exactly what to do in these situations. I’m concerned that you may need a new dentist.
Your canine teeth are very important both to the form and function of your smile. It is important this is fixed. How it is handled will depend on whether you have adult canine teeth and, if so, the position they are in.
The first thing you need are x-rays to determine what is going on with the canine teeth. Often when they haven’t erupted, it means they are impacted. In this case, you will need some brackets and braces to help the tooth come up in the right position. Because your baby teeth are smaller, there may not be enough room for the adult teeth. Your canine teeth are very important as I mentioned earlier, so you will need to open up room for them. It is often advisable in this case to remove a first premolar to make room for them, but this is best addressed by an orthodontist.
A dental implant will only work if there are no adult teeth at all. When this happens, it is called congenitally missing teeth. If you have any adult teeth there, it is best to get those into proper position.
I’m sorry you are going through this. It would have been much easier for you if your dentist would have addressed this early on.
This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.