Impacted Canines

Treat With Exposure & Bonding

Impacted canines can create a variety of problems. Aside from their impact on your smile’s aesthetic, these teeth play a crucial role in having a healthy bite and maintaining proper tooth alignment. When canines are impacted—or fail to erupt properly—your oral function and health can be impacted, including difficulty eating, gum disease, misalignment, and tooth decay.

Often, an expose and bond treatment is chosen to treat impacted canines. By harnessing years of expertise, Dr. Davis is adept in guiding these teeth to the dental arch. Contact Shawn B. Davis, DMD, Oral & Facial Surgery Institute in St. George, UT to learn more and schedule a consultation.

What Is an Impacted Tooth?

When a canine tooth is impacted, it is trapped beneath the gum line because it is unable to properly emerge or erupt. Canines are located toward the front of the mouth. When these teeth are impacted, they can impair overall oral functioning. Second only to wisdom teeth, canines are the most frequent tooth to be impacted.

Teeth may be impacted for a variety of reasons including an obstruction in the dental arch, overcrowding of teeth, or a lack of space in the mouth for a natural emergence. If untreated, impacted teeth can cause problems like difficulty chewing, gum disease, tooth decay, and can impact the alignment of adjacent teeth.

Causes of Impacted Canine Teeth

An impacted canine tooth occurs when the adult canine tooth fails to erupt properly and becomes lodged in the jawbone. Several factors contribute to this condition:

• Obstruction by a baby tooth or abnormal growth: Sometimes, a baby tooth may not shed naturally, or there might be an abnormal growth hindering the permanent canine tooth's eruption.
• Dental overcrowding: Insufficient space in the dental arch can cause teeth to misalign, leading to impacted canines.
• Limited space in the dental arch: The size and shape of the dental arch may not allow adequate room for the canine teeth to emerge naturally.

Early treatment of impacted canine teeth enhances the likelihood of successful eruption and function. Failure to address an impacted tooth promptly results in increased fusion with the jawbone, eliminating exposure and bonding as treatment options. Extraction of the tooth followed by dental implant placement becomes the sole solution.

Exposure and Bonding Process

The exposure and bonding process involves a surgical procedure to reveal the impacted tooth. Initially, an incision is made in the gums to access the tooth, and a bracket with a chain is affixed to it. This bracket is then connected to braces to align the tooth correctly. Over several months, an orthodontist employs this chain to guide the tooth into its proper position within the dental arch.

Effective treatment of impacted canine teeth relies on close collaboration between Dr. Davis and the patient's orthodontist. Patients should consult their orthodontist within two weeks of tooth exposure and bracketing to initiate the alignment process promptly. This interdisciplinary teamwork is vital in achieving successful eruption, function, and aesthetic outcome of impacted canines.