impacted canines-help!

[dancergrl]

i'm just about 14. i have 2 impacted canines(the top ones) and i recently had the baby ones and the two molars behind it pulled. the molars should start coming in in about 3 months if i'm lucky. for the canines i probably will need the chains for them. but i don't really understand that. will i need a whole set of braces? also, how long should they take to come in(after i get the braces), and how long will it be from now when i get them? i know no one can tell me for real because you don't know all the details, but an honest opinion would be nice. and finally, how it looks isn't my biggest concern, but i'm going into high school soon so do you think all my teeth will be in by then? thanks so much.

[Sunny]

dancergrl I wish I had some anwers for you ... but I don't. For me ... well my impacted canine wouldn't come down due to it being anchored to the jaw bone. Sometimes it's still possible, with a little extra surgery, but in my case it was never going to happen, so I've had all my teeth moved forward on that side and now have a premolar acting as a canine.

I've worked with many patients who have impacted canines ... some come down a few months after the chain starts to put pressure on ... others take a few more months longer.

Ask your ortho all the questions you've written above, as s/he may have some answers. Where the canines are positioned can help ... for example if it's close to the gap it's to come into, it usually takes less time than if it's further away. We use 1 mm a month of movement as an idea of the average ... but many move faster and many move slower ... and there's no way of nothing which way it'll go for you.

As far as I'm aware, to bring canines down, you need to have braces. This is usually also to make sure there's enough space for the adult canine to move into. The space taken up by the 'baby' tooth, is smaller and if more space isn't made, then this will affect the teeth on either side and also may prevent the canine from coming down properly.

Talk to your family about when their adult teeth came in. This may not be when your's will, but sometimes it can be genetic. Ask your ortho where your adult molars are sitting ... are they close to breaking through your gums?

Good luck with your questions and I hope the answers you receive from your ortho will help! Plus good luck with your canines being brought down ... it's wonderful that this will work for you!