Still missing 3 canines at 22 years of age... My options?...

[clairey33]

Hi everyone... New today, thought this was the perfect place to get some advice
I'm 22 years of age, and about 4-5 years ago (I think) my dentist took my last 3 remaining milk teeth out. She said the adult teeth would drop down soon after.... Years later and I still have big gaps, both canines on my lower jaw and my upper right canine. (So two big gaps on right side and one on left)

I have had numerous x-rays to check they are still there, and yes, they are. They're just not moving . My teeth have always been slow coming through. When I was in year 5 (10-11 years of age) I had a retainer fitted to correct my two front teeth as they were very crooked.

I am now worried that they will never come through and I will be like this for so long! I dont want any false teeth fitted as I am still young and I just feel that I need my real teeth :P
I'm not keen on smiling as the gaps are big and my dentist tells me I have an overcrowded jaw so many of my teeth are a bit wonky.

Is there anything my dentist/orthodontist can do? My dentist did say something about pulling them down once, but I got so worried about the pain that I just tried to forget about what she said and didn't ask about it lol... I'm a wuss. I now understand that it involves fixing a brace to the teeth that need pulling down, and attaching a "chain" to another tooth. Would this be tricky for me as on my right side the gaps are directly opposite each other?

Thanks for reading my (almost) life story, any info/help would be HUGELY appreciated

-Claire

[Sunny]

Hi Claire and welcome to this forum!

It is possible for teeth to be exposed during surgery and having a button attached to them. A chain is attached to the button and a bracket on the tooth next to the gap. This chain is slowly shortened to bring the tooth into place. Not all teeth will come down, as some are connected to the bone, but most x-rays will show whether this is the case or not.

You need to find a few ortho's and have consults to hear what they recommend.

Good luck!

[clairey33]

Thanks sunny. I will have to have a chat with my dentist next time I visit. I would love to see pics but can't find any, is there a medical term for this procedure? Any idea how long it takes on average if the teeth aren't connected to the jaw bone?

[Sunny]

We refer to it as 'canine exposure' ... as the surgery is to expose the canine tooth so that it can be brought down.