Tooth root coming out???

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#1 Post by **genxsis** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:49 am

I'm about 14 months into having braces, so everything is pretty much lined up now, except for one little thing:

I've noticed a rather large and kind of sharp bump on my upper gum if I feel with my finger way up as far as I can push it under my upper lip. It wasn't there before. Sometimes I have to dig around my gum with my finger to dislodge food that gets up there since my tongue can't reach there, and that's how I discovered it.

If it's not part of a root, I don't know what else it could possible be. And with all the moving around my teeth did because of the braces, I thought maybe a root got moved wrong and the bottom end of it is about to be pushed through my gum. Could this really be the case?

#2 Post by **DaisyMay66** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 4:32 pm

You may want to google buccal exostosis. I have this condition.

#3 Post by **Clo** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 1:39 am

Yes, this can really be the case.
It happened in my case. My canines and first premolars have this very same
issue going on. I had so many elastics that these teeth began to slant inwards
and by doing so, the roots moved outwards and showed, especially that of my upper
left premolar, sharp bumps in my gum. Teeth have roots that are settled in a "ridge"
of bone, to put things simply. In my case, my upper teeth are all at the "outside
border" of that ridge. There was expansion om my upper arch but that ridge
did not expand. So even a small amount of slanting inwards of those teeth revealed
the roots at the outside. And that is very very bad. My ortho stopped immediately
my treatment when he saw that. Because those teeth are like what you see in movies,
when a car is hanging over the edge of a cliff. There is this constant danger of
falling into the depth. But I think there are gradations of this issue. Going from doing
about nothing and keeping an eye on it to having a very high risk of losing that tooth.
So, in your case, it is possible that things are not that bad (yet). And that nothing
needs to be done. Or that some adjustments to the braces make it possible for this
tooth to rotate back and by doing so get an improvement. Using the torque technique
(rotate the tooth, crown outwards, root inwards) can help too.
Very important : speak about this to your ortho. Maybe a simple x-ray can give some
clarification too. Good luck !

#4 Post by **genxsis** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 10:59 am

OMG!

Now I'm really scared! I didn't know it might be such a bad thing. I'm going to be calling my ortho ASAP! I'll let you know what he says. He'll probably say, "Let's set up an appointment", which is a good thing, but not exciting to report.

#5 Post by **Clo** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:04 am

Oh dear,

it was not my intention to scare you at all.
I just think this is a potentially dangerous issue that needs to be looked at.
Please keep us posted.

#6 Post by **genxsis** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:04 am

HERE'S AN UPDATE:

Clo,
I called my ortho yesterday and got ahold of the treatment coordinator. I can't actually talk to the ortho when I call, so I had to deal with her only. I told her about my situation and told her about buccal exostosis and that I was very concerned about it. She said she's never heard of that before. She said she'd ask the ortho and get back to me, which she did this morning.

She said the ortho said that the root poking out of my gum is not abnormal and won't stay that way and to keep using my elastics as I have been, and that I shouldn't be concerned. I wasn't even invited to set up an appointment.

Now I'm confused because my situation sounds just like yours. The root beginning to protrude is above my left upper eye tooth, and the tooth itself is starting to slant inward, making the root come out. If I keep using the elastics as I have, won't that just continue to make it worse??? I stopped using the elastics starting last night. I just don't feel right using them anymore. I'm starting to feel like the ortho really doesn't care what happens. If he did, they'd want me to go there so they could check it out and see for themselves.

You said your ortho stopped your treatment immediately! It must be serious if he did that! So what do you think I should do?

#7 Post by **lionfish** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:14 pm

I'll add my 20c to this for what it's worth.

I wore box and triangle elastics continuously for 6 months and while my bite was successfully closed with these, a few of my lower teeth have rolled inwards a bit and their roots are more prominent. Another outcome has been that my lowers and uppers do not meet square on now.

At my last appointment, at which I was told to wear 2 light elastics nights only, my ortho acknowledged this and noted that the next step was to expand my lower arch so that everything lines up properly. I infer that in this process, any tooth roots that are not in line will go back to where they should be. In any event, I am not concerned at this stage.

#8 Post by **lemonlyme** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 4:11 pm

Same thing happened to me, and i pointed it out to my ortho/dentist. He said it will go back down when i get the expander out and not to worry.

#9 Post by **Clo** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 1:02 am

Hi,

First, though I do not have much time now, I did a quick search on "buccal exostosis".
I think my issue and maybe yours has nothing to do with that. It does not involve
bone growth, but simply the tooth root that comes out of the bone. It starts with only
a small unsharp bump when there is still bone around the root and evolves into a
sharp and more white bump in the gum. Mine is the latter one, you can see almost
the whole tooth, from crown to the end tip of its root. That end tip is sharp, hence
this is why my bump is now so sharp. That is why this issue is now critical for me.
Yes, my ortho thinks it is serious, to that extent that he didn't want to do anything
anymore for me, telling me the risks were to high. It complicated my case even more
because of that, as this ortho was also not able to correct my bite at all. I posted several
times here about this. That is why I now see a (third) ortho who maybe will resume
my treatment. This Friday I see her again to see what she will or can do, together with
an oral surgeon. But that is another story, this is about my effort to try to get a better
bite. Or better said, to try to get a bite.

Now about your issue. Do you feel any pain in this tooth ? It is true that when this
tooth is left alone, it will get better again. Even my teeth improved a bit now that
I do not have braces for a while. Only question remains, is your issue bad now ?
Only the ortho can evaluate this. So I think he should at least see this. Maybe you
have a regular dentist who can have a look at this. I think this issue is just like
reaching or looking for a border, not crossing it and things are safe, crossing it and
things get a lot tougher. So at least your ortho should care about this. Try to see him !
Again, do not be scared about what I tell. I think this issue happens all the time. In
almost all cases it improves a lot when the treatment is finished. So, almost everyone
seems to be able not to cross that border. Chances are big that your issue is yet not
that bad. I was unlucky I suppose.
Can you post a pic of what is happening ? And, what elastic configuration do you have
now ?

#10 Post by **genxsis** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 11:02 am

First of all, thank you to everyone for your replies!

I don't have a digial camera to show you any pictures, but Clo, the way way you described what you have, "you can see almost
the whole tooth, from crown to the end tip of its root. That end tip is sharp, hence
this is why my bump is now so sharp", that is exactly the way I would describe what I have. And that really makes me concerned.

As for my elastics configuration, I have one on each side going from the upper lateral (the tooth between the front tooth and eye tooth) going down to the first molar. Previously up until about 4 months ago, I connected them from the eye tooth to the first molar until the ortho told me to do it the new way.

Currently, I'm wearing the elastics only at night because of my concern over this situation. My ortho had told me to wear them all the time, which is what I was doing up until now. I plan to keep wearing them only at night until my next appointment when he'll actually be able to see my tooth. That appointment is in about 20 days.

Be honest now--am I making too big a deal out of nothing, or could this be serious and be worthy of taking seriously?

#11 Post by **Clo** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:58 am

Hi,

about your last question. I do not know. Because there is no harm done if this can
still be reversed. That is what I meant by this border. If there is still bone enough
around the tooth, then there is no harm done and things will go better, by itself
or with some help of your ortho. In my case, there seems to be not enough bone
anymore, and then it becomes very difficult to torque and shift this tooth back in the
bone. My second ortho couldn't do it. He is really scared to handle this situation.
He knows he pulled this "over the border". But as I said earlier, I see a new ortho
tomorrow. Maybe I will get a new treatment and also this can be dealt with.

I think what you do is right. Wear those elastics at night. And watch very carefully
this issue so that it does not get worse. I think your ortho might know about this
issue and therefor changed the position of your elastics from your canines to
your laterals. You say this happened 4 months ago. I wonder how long you are
wearing now these elastics ?

#12 Post by **genxsis** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 10:49 am

I was wearing them all the time, but now I've decided to wear them about 16 hours a day. I tried doing it just at night, but then my teeth would be hurting during the day because they're so used to the elastics being there. Kind of like when the ortho takes your ties off during an adjustment, the teeth get more sensitive.

I'm sorry to hear your situation got so bad. There really should be some way of getting your roots back into the bone. It would seem like they could do that, if they were able to make the root come out in the first place. But then again, I'm not an ortho, so I can only guess.

What do they say will happen to that tooth, now that it has crossed that border?

#13 Post by **Clo** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 11:54 pm

No, I meant how many months are you now wearing those elastics ?

I know the feeling. When I had elastics, the same was going on, teeth feeling
much better with elastics. Maybe I'll have more info about my issues this afternoon,
when I see my ortho.

#14 Post by **genxsis** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 10:56 am

I'd say I've been using the elastics for 6 or 8 months. I don't exactly remember when I started.

I hope your ortho appointment brings you encouraging news!

#15 Post by **TheSarahMonster** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 2:18 pm

I had the same type of bump above my a premolar next to my canine. I thought it was ab abcess.....I went to my dentist.....she laughed......it was just bone.....just apart of my jaw....it's supposed to be above my canine (I do have a smaller bump over the left canine.....According to her it's just a normal part of my anatomy, but it seems like it's sticking out more because my teeth have shifted positions.......

I noticed mine the same way you did....and it's in the same spot on the other side.....

It's still a good idea to get it checked out, but it's probably just part of you jaw.....