Orthodontics can improve and correct several dental health issues. Common issues corrected by orthodontics include visible problems such as crowded, crooked and misaligned teeth, but it also corrects the less visible problems such as an impacted tooth.
What are impacted teeth?
Impacted teeth area dental problem that affects many people. It results from a tooth growing at one angle or moving into the pace in the gum for the next tooth. An impacted teeth causes damage to the crown and root of the neighbouring teeth.
If the damage is left untreated and severe, the surrounding tooth may become loose and fall off.
Types of impacted tooth
Your teeth can become impacted. Most people with impacted teeth have them in the permanent upper teeth. The impacted upper canine usually has several presentations in different locations, which include towards the lips or cheek, or the palate.In some cases, they damage the neighbouring teeth.
Different treatments are available for impacted teeth depending on their location. The premolars and molars can also become impacted.
The teeth can become impacted in different ways, depending on the tooth angle. They include:
- Partial eruption
It occurs when the tooth does not completely erupt from the gum due to its closeness and angle to the next tooth.
- Angular tooth impaction
This impaction occurs when the tooth grows at an angle inside the gum, preventing it from erupting.
- Vertical tooth impaction
This occurs when the tooth comes in at the right angle but is close to the surrounding tooth.
- Horizontal tooth impaction
This impaction is present when the tooth comes in at an angle, increasing the risk of causing damage to the surrounding tooth.
How to know you have an impacted tooth
Most people with impacted teeth remain unaware of this dental issue until they visit the Bromley dental clinic for a checkup. Usually, an x-ray or examination confirms if the tooth is impacted by checking if it erupts at a misaligned angle or can’t erupt fully.
Some people experience certain symptoms that indicate they have a dental issue. These symptoms may include headache, difficulty opening the mouth fully, swollen or painful gums.
How can orthodontics correct impacted teeth?
Orthodontics is suitable for correcting several dental health issues, including impacted teeth.
- Early-stage treatment for canine impaction
If your orthodontist or dentist notices impacted canines during the early stages, they can provide treatment to help the tooth erupt without coming in impacted. If it is a temporary tooth, it may require extraction to allow the adult tooth erupt correctly.
The dentist or orthodontist may recommend spacers to prevent the tooth from growing into the space for the next tooth. A child with a growing jaw who needs more space in the arch may require a palate expander.
Diagnosing impacted teeth in the early stages increases the chances of correcting this dental condition without causing harm to the surrounding teeth.
- Braces for an impacted canine tooth
Dental braces are a common treatment for an impacted canine tooth. They can pull up an impacted tooth to the right position. When a tooth is in an upright position, it can perform chewing and biting functions.
If an impacted canine does not grow into the provided space, you may need a common uncovering procedure performed by a specialist. The procedure helps uncover the impacted tooth to allow braces to attach to it and move it to the right position.
If the impacted tooth results in crooked or crowded teeth, you may need braces to move the teeth into the right position to make the entire teeth on the arch straight and aligned. Aside from moving the teeth to enhance their aesthetics, corrected impacted teeth with braces improves oral health by making teeth cleaning easier.
- Invisalign for an impacted tooth
Invisalign is not a common treatment for an impacted tooth. However, it may be an option if the impaction is minor. Invisalign aligners do not exert the same force as dental braces to pull the affected tooth from the gum into the right position.
However, Invisalign is an effective treatment option to correct the crooked tooth or teeth that shifted out of position because of an impacted tooth.
- Plates/braces for an impacted molar tooth
The orthodontist may place plates in your mouth to correct the position of partially erupted or impacted molars. Braces can help in aligning impacted molars if the affected arch is crowded.
Limitations of orthodontics
In some cases, orthodontics cannot correct impacted teeth, especially if the impaction occurred a long time agoand the affected tooth has become damaged to the extent that only an extraction is possible.
In some cases, impacted teeth may have Ankylosis, a condition where the tooth is stuck in the jaw bone and cannot move after an uncovering procedure. Diagnosing Ankylosisis possible by using braces to move the impacted teeth.
The risk of having Ankylosis increases with the ageing process. If you have completed treatment with braces and have not removed the wisdom teeth, ensure you visit your dentist often to ensure that the wisdom tooth does not become impacted or result in overcrowding.
If your impacted tooth results in misalignment of other teeth and you need teeth straightening Bromley, visit Smile 4 U to schedule an appointment with our dentist.
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