IMPACTED CANINES
PROCEDURE AFFECTS YOUR DENTAL ARCH AND PROPER BITE
If a tooth is impacted, it cannot properly erupt (emerge) through the gums properly. This usually happens around the age of thirteen and most often affects the maxillary cuspid, commonly known as the upper eye tooth or canine. This tooth plays an important role in your dental arch and is essential for having a proper “bite.” If this doesn’t happen naturally, your oral surgeon (often working with your orthodontist) will team up together to help the impacted tooth extraction erupt in a correct manner.
HOW THE PROCEDURE WORKS
The procedure is safe and almost always successful. Here’s how it works in a nutshell:
- The orthodontist “braces” the upper arch to create space for the impacted tooth to move into
- Typically, the surgery is performed with “laughing gas” and a local anesthesia
- Your oral surgeon lifts the gum on top of the impacted tooth to expose the tooth.
- He then returns the gum to its original place and sutures it in
- The whole process takes only about 75 minutes (105 minutes if both sides require treatment).
- The patient returns to the orthodontist within two weeks where the tooth is gently pulled into it’s a proper place – a process which may take up to a year.
RECOVERY IS USUALLY SIMPLE
Post operative patients usually apply ice packs to the lips to lessen swelling. They also may use an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory to lessen any swelling and rely on soft foods for the first couple of days.
DID YOU KNOW?
Canine teeth are also called cuspid or eye teeth. In humans there are four canines, one in each half of each jaw – each has an oversized root, a remnant of the large canine of the nonhuman primates. This creates a bulge in the upper jaw that supports the corner of the lip.
Source: Britannica
INTERESTING FACT
Impacted canines are twice as prevalent in women as in men.
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Our goal is to see you at the best time for your schedule. Many times we can do an initial evaluation and procedure on the same day.
