Impacted Teeth In The Midsection Of The Mouth Are (Mostly) Preventable
When you hear about impacted teeth, aren't you usually thinking about wisdom teeth? They're the most commonly impacted teeth in the mouth.
What does "impacted" actually mean when it comes to teeth? It means any tooth that is prevent from coming into its rightful place in the mouth. It doesn't matter whether it's stopped by another tooth (most common) or bone or any other tissue.
It's easy to understand why wisdom teeth get impacted. They're the last teeth to the party and if the room is too crowded, they're not going to be allowed to enter.
But what about teeth in the midsection of the mouth. Canine teeth (fangs) and premolars are the next most common teeth to get shut out. If that's the part of the mouth where the teeth are crowded, then first come first served. The stragglers are just out of luck.
What does this mean if it happens for your child?
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In the best case scenario, a little orthodontic action can be used (braces, etc.) and hopefully room can be made for the impacted teeth to make their entrance. Sometimes the teeth have already found a way to make it to the surface, but they usually come into the mouth completely out of their normal position.
In the worst case scenario, the impacted teeth have absolutely no where to go and they're caught down below in the jawbone where they create worse crowding. They may then develop serious complications like cysts in the jaw bones themselves.
For these reasons, when dentists discover these impaction situations (by x-ray... and often too late), they send your child to one specialist or another. Your child is headed either to the orthodontist for the best case scenary OR they're headed to the oral surgeon for surgery to remove that impacted tooth before the complications can occur.
And in the vest majority of cases, these things could have been prevented by a mom who's really watching their child's mouth closely from ages 3 through 12. Yep, all of those years require an eagle eye and the knowledge of what you're looking for.
You can't always avoid the need for an orthodontist or oral surgeon in your child's life, HOWEVER, you can almost always prevent these types of impactions by knowing the right information before you really need it for those nine years of your child's mouth development. You can stop it, mom!
If you want to receive guidance along the way through all those years, check out our Real Mom's Dental Community. Questions can be asked and guidance is given. Knowledge is power. Do the best thing by your child and know before you go (to the dentist). You'll ask better questions to elicit better answers. Your child will be prevented from unnecessary grief and your bank account will be a lot fatter.