Surgical Orthodontics in Feasterville, PA
Working with your orthodontist to give your child a beautiful smile.
When most people think of surgical treatment for impacted teeth, they think of wisdom teeth. But your upper canines (maxillary cuspids) are the second most common type of teeth to become impacted. And unlike wisdom teeth, canines are vital to aligning your bite and maintaining a normal facial structure.
Discovering Impacted Canines
Avoid pain and hassle by addressing impacted canines early.
As your child grows, your dentist should take X-rays to determine whether surgical relief is necessary. We recommend starting young. By the time your child’s a teenager, his or her canines will be too mature to erupt naturally — even if an orthodontist and oral surgeon clear space for them. Addressing impacted teeth is important to a good appearance and avoiding:
- Pain
- Improper position of nearby teeth
- Cyst formation
- Infection
- Malformed jaw
Solving Impacted Canines
Determining the next steps necessary to help your child.
If your dentist determines that your child needs surgical orthodontics, there are two potential situations we’ll need to address:
- Your child’s teeth have not matured, which may only call for the removal of intruding teeth or other blockages. In this case, your child’s teeth will erupt naturally and an orthodontist will be able to adjust his or her teeth using standard methods.
- Your child’s teeth have matured to the point where they will not move into the correct place, even if his or her orthodontist and our surgeons’ clear space for them.
In the second instance, we will work with your child’s orthodontist to encourage his or her impacted teeth to erupt from the gums.
Surgical Orthodontics Procedure
A fast outpatient procedure to help your child’s canines emerge.
Through a simple surgical procedure performed under general anesthesia, we can help your child’s tooth erupt. Here are the procedural steps:
- Lift the portion of the gum covering the impacted tooth.
- Bond a bracket to the impacted tooth. Attached to the bracket is a small gold chain.
- Either suture the gum above the tooth, or lay the gum back down with the gold chain emerging from the gums through a small hole.
- We’ll temporarily secure the gold chain to your child’s braces.
Your child’s orthodontist will fasten a rubber band between the gold chain and the braces, which applies just enough pressure to coax out your child’s tooth. This is a slow process — it can take up to a year for your child’s impacted tooth to fully emerge. But it’s important to address this condition early to avoid hassle and discomfort.
For more information on surgical orthodontics in Bucks County, or to schedule an appointment, call 215-322-7810. You can also schedule an appointment using our easy online form.