Still have a baby tooth ... at 57!

C3PO

I still have a baby tooth on the right hand side of my mouth in what I believe is the "canine" position. While it is a little smaller than the surrounding teeth, it doesn't look odd, nor is there any appreciable gap between it and the surrounding teeth. I was warned a while ago by my dentist that it would likely loosen over time and that is now beginning to happen but only very slightly!
I know that having an implant done is one option but currently that would be financially difficult. Is there any way of splinting it (at least temporarily) to the surrounding teeth?

Fishorsealant

Is the tooth congenitally missing?
Have you had a radiograph or exam to see if the permanent canine is present ?

witchgirl26

I'm in a similar enough position to you in that I've 2 at 32. I had a different x-ray to the normal ones dentists do to see if there was an adult tooth there and because there wasn't I was told that when the baby one falls out there will just be a gap. I was told that an implant was the best option but that a false tooth was also a possibility.

I went to a dental centre that isn't just normal dentists but orthodontists as well and they were able to give me a lot more information and understanding of it (and weren't just out to pull the tooth & stick an implant in).

It might be worth looking at ones near you and see if they have any information evenings that might help you out.

Oh & just to ease your mind - mine have been a little loose for about 4 years and no sign of them falling out yet!

C3PO

Fishorsealant wrote: »

Is the tooth congenitally missing?
Have you had a radiograph or exam to see if the permanent canine is present ?

I believe that there is no adult tooth above it!

C3PO

witchgirl26 wrote: »

Oh & just to ease your mind - mine have been a little loose for about 4 years and no sign of them falling out yet!

Thank you - that’s a bit of a relief!

witchgirl26

C3PO wrote: »

Thank you - that’s a bit of a relief!

Glad to help! My dentist keeps an eye on them to see how they're getting on but is very reluctant to pull them as he doesn't want to cause trauma to the gum.

Also gives me time to save up for the implant to replace them!

pmpa

Hi,
I am watching this thread closely because I am 39 and still have my baby canine teeth. They aren't loose but an xray showed both teeth have very little roots, so don't know how much longer they will last. I do not have any adult canine teeth, xray proved this.
I'd love to hear from anyone who's baby teeth has fallen out and what they did instead and was it successful.

Oral Surgeon

So we have three different patient on this thread with a retained primary canine tooth and no adult canine tooth present up in the bone....!

Having an impacted and unerupted adult canine tooth is quite common and is the reason why the primary tooth was not lost at the correct time usually.... Having no adult canine tooth is quite uncommon and yet we have three patients on this thread reporting this....

I would have to say that one or more of you are mistaken and there is an impacted adult tooth there...

Have a look at this, the patient couldn't see the impacted canine....

pmpa

I have known since I was about 12 that I had no adult canine teeth. Like you said Oral Surgeon that dentist said it was very rare. In my twenties, I went to an Orthodontist to get lower braces. She double checked again that I did not have adult canine teeth buried somewhere. Another Dentist recently was taking xrays of my top wisdom teeth and said if I wouldn't mind he would like to check as well. He did not find any buried teeth either.
The last Dentist said to watch my kids as they could be the same as me, two of them have their adult canine teeth and I'm waiting on the youngest as she hasn't lost her baby teeth yet. Hopefully, they will all escape inheriting this.
I can see on the xray Oral Surgeon where the tooth is, my xray is clear. I have been asked could Dentists show my xray to students!

C3PO

Thanks Oral Surgeon - I'm not absolutely sure but my recollection is that my dentist said that there was no adult tooth there ... I could be mistaken!
Would the presence of an adult tooth affect the treatment options available?

Grab All Association

My fiancée is the same. Two baby teeth in the back. She’s American and they were pulled out over there in her early teens.

witchgirl26

Oral Surgeon - just to clarify, mine are the canine ones that are baby teeth. It's actually the one beside it towards the back (don't know the proper name) and the one directly below that. I've had it confirmed by 2 different dentists that there is no adult teeth there.

I know they said to me that if there was (before they did the x-ray) that if there was, they would most likely pull the baby tooth & encourage the adult tooth down.

Reynolds2

I am 32 and still have a baby canine. I have just had an x-ray which shows impacted canine on upper right side. The ortho wants to try and guide it down with a chain but said that it does not always work in adults. Is it worth trying Oral Surgeon?

Oral Surgeon

Reynolds2 wrote: »

I am 32 and still have a baby canine. I have just had an x-ray which shows impacted canine on upper right side. The ortho wants to try and guide it down with a chain but said that it does not always work in adults. Is it worth trying Oral Surgeon?

There are too many factors for me to say here.... If it is not too far from home, then it is worth a try but if it is very deeply impacted then maybe not...

If your ortho is proposing it then its probably worth it....

My one bit of advice in these cases is not to remove other adult teeth in that general area (to make room for the adult canine) unless you are all absolutely positive that the canine is moving into place......

Purple Mountain

I have three of my wisdom teeth and no sign of any breakthrough of the fourth.
I'm late 30s but I assume this is not uncommon?

Fishorsealant

Not uncommon.
Wisdom teeth are the most commonly impacted teeth.

Sometimes it can be congenitally absent too.

Reynolds2

Thank you for your reply Oral Surgeon. The impacted canine is in the pallet just behind my incisors and at an angle similar to the e in the Google logo. I can feel a bump where it is on the roof of my mouth. That’s the only way I can describe how impacted it is! I don’t know if this is ‘too far from home’

The Ortho wants to remove the baby canine to make room but also both premolars in upper jaw to fix my bite. I have an over jet and a deep overbite which is almost ‘traumatic’. I also have a class ii division 2 malocclusion.

It’s so much work to have done! There was even talk of them wanting to break my jaw! But that was just one ortho out of the 4 consults that I had. I have been quoted about 4,000 for the work. Would it be cheaper to go to Northern Ireland? I love in Drogheda so it’s not too far for me to travel. Thank you for your help. I am so confused at what is the right thing to do!

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

There are too many factors for me to say here.... If it is not too far from home, then it is worth a try but if it is very deeply impacted then maybe not...

If your ortho is proposing it then its probably worth it....

My one bit of advice in these cases is not to remove other adult teeth in that general area (to make room for the adult canine) unless you are all absolutely positive that the canine is moving into place......

Oral Surgeon

There is no "right answer"... different plans will likely get you the same general final result...

Go with the ortho that you are most comfortable with, best qualified, ask if they regularly treat this type of case (in adults).

You can travel if you want but don't compare a general dentist up north to an orthodontist down south. If you find comparable operators then they will likely charge similar fees... factor in travel costs and time off work etc...

Reynolds2 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply Oral Surgeon. The impacted canine is in the pallet just behind my incisors and at an angle similar to the e in the Google logo. I can feel a bump where it is on the roof of my mouth. That’s the only way I can describe how impacted it is! I don’t know if this is ‘too far from home’

The Ortho wants to remove the baby canine to make room but also both premolars in upper jaw to fix my bite. I have an over jet and a deep overbite which is almost ‘traumatic’. I also have a class ii division 2 malocclusion.

It’s so much work to have done! There was even talk of them wanting to break my jaw! But that was just one ortho out of the 4 consults that I had. I have been quoted about 4,000 for the work. Would it be cheaper to go to Northern Ireland? I love in Drogheda so it’s not too far for me to travel. Thank you for your help. I am so confused at what is the right thing to do!

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