Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hi! I'm Dr. Holly Austgen with Southeast Family Dental and today we are going to talk about
children that are missing their adult teeth. As children start losing their teeth, many
parents worry about how and when the adult teeth will come in. But what if they haven't
come in or you have been told they won't? Now what?
There are many reasons why children will not get their adult teeth. First, it's possible
that the child lost their baby tooth too early and the adult tooth is not ready to come in.
It could also be that the adult tooth does not have enough room to come in between the
teeth that are already there, or for that, or one other reason, the adult tooth simply
did not form.
Treating this problem in children will vary based on why the adult tooth has not come
in. For instance, the adult tooth is just not ready to come in, the dentist may want
to place an appliance that will hold the space until the tooth starts coming through the
gums. This treatment prevents the issue of not having enough room for the adult tooth
to come in. When the adult tooth does not have room to come in, it becomes more involved
and an orthodontist will need to be consulted to move the other teeth in order to make room
and in some cases an appliance to pull the tooth through the gums.
And lastly, when an adult tooth has failed to form, there are a few ways to address this.
Often, if it's one or two teeth, a patient can maintain the baby tooth for as long as
possible. Very often, if well taken care of, someone can keep their baby tooth long into
adulthood and sometimes for life. However, if the baby tooth is lost or needs to be removed,
other options can also be discussed.
If the missing adult teeth are more than one or two, this becomes an issue with function
and maintenance of the teeth that are there. First, though, if a child is missing multiple
adult teeth, a consult with the child's pediatrician is recommended to rule out conditions that
may affect the entire body.
A child missing their adult teeth can have a broad range of very straight-forward treatments
to other conditions that require more involvement with your dentist. It is important that a
child be seen on a regular basis to keep an eye on their adult teeth and how they're coming
in.
If you have any questions, please give us a call at 317-359-8000. This is Dr. Austgen
with Southeast Family Dental, and remember, we can make you smile!