IMPACTED CANINES CLUB

[Eve255]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all your stories and good luck to you all.

It looks like I could be a potential member of the club too. I also have an impacted canine on the upper right and I'm 40 years old.

I had a (quite ugly looking) bridge for 23 years. It was put in when I was 17 where I was briefly told about the impacted canine and the surgery option but heavily encouraged/pressured to go for the bridge), and it finally fell out last week. I hated that bridge and regretted all the while that I didn't have the surgery and now it has left the sides of my incisor and premolar in a bit of a state, although my current dentist said that it is superficial decay and nothing to worry about. Anyway, he took an x-ray and apparently the canine is in quite a good position and I have been referred to the orthodontist, appointment is on the 17th sept.

I must admit though, I was pretty ignorant as to the extent of the procedure and after reading some of the more grisly stories, I'm not sure if I want to go ahead with it now, assuming that it is possible in the first place. I'm not scared of the dentist/surgery etc and don't care about wearing braces for ages, it's because I'm worried that some of my other teeth could become damaged in the process leaving me in a worse state than when I started and if it is worth it, considering it may not even be a success. I'm in the UK so I will get some of it on the NHS but will still have to pay a significant amount towards it. The ortho consultation alone is £60, that's nearly $100. That said, getting another bridge is also very expensive and also takes it's toll on the two teeth supporting it so I'm in a bit of a quandary as to what to do. The other option is to have the canine removed and a brace to close the gap up a bit, (I think that's an option anyway), but its a shame to get rid of the healthy canine tooth.

So really, was just wondering what you guys would advise, seeing how most of you are either part way or fully finished the treatment. I know the outcome is not the same for everyone but if anyone has any advice on this, I'd love to hear it.

P.S for any other UK canine impacters reading this who have a bridge and don;t like it, if you haven't already, go to a non-NHS dentist. This is how I came upon the option of canine impaction surgery. For the last 23 years I was led to think it was too late to do anything and there was no other option but to leave the canine languishing in my gum, it was always the cheapest option - leaving the chipped, rotting bridge in my mouth to further decay. I wish I had been properly advised years ago urgh :-(.

All the best.

[millersgirl]

Hey guys....
been a while since I've updated.
Just more of the same here. My teeth and midline have shifted so horrifically that I'm about ready to just quit trying. I don't think the tooth has made any real progress based on an Xray I had last week.
I don't want an implant so I think I'm going to see if I can just have the impacted tooth removed along with the normal canine and then just close the gaps. I know my ortho is heavily against this but I really don't want an implant.
I'm crushed but enough is enough.

Here's a pic...my front teeth are completely pushed over.

image1.JPG

[Siobhan]

Hey guys....
been a while since I've updated.
Just more of the same here. My teeth and midline have shifted so horrifically that I'm about ready to just quit trying. I don't think the tooth has made any real progress based on an Xray I had last week.
I don't want an implant so I think I'm going to see if I can just have the impacted tooth removed along with the normal canine and then just close the gaps. I know my ortho is heavily against this but I really don't want an implant.
I'm crushed but enough is enough.

Here's a pic...my front teeth are completely pushed over.

image1.JPG

Sorry to hear your update, millersgirl. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be.

[sadiered]

Hi guys, so I've been a quiet lurker (not to mention, an impacted caniner) on this forum and have been reading all the posts regarding this srsly frustrating problem that we all seem to share >.< Since I'm scheduled for a canine exposure surgery two weeks from now, I thought I'd join the club and share my experience!

So I'm 26 years old and my upper left canine is palatally impacted. I decided to get braces last year to straighten my teeth. I had crooked teeth and it was affecting my self-confidence and I didn't like to smile with my teeth because of that. The dentist told me that in order for me to get braces done, I had to either extract my canine that was lodged in the roof of my mouth or try and bring it down. Obviously, he said the latter was better as the canine was supposedly an essential tooth in terms of aesthetics and blablabla. Oh, before I forget, I don't have a baby canine. I think it dropped when I was little, and somehow the rest of the teeth filled the gap while that stubborn adult canine decided to get stuck up there. Go figure.

So it's been a year of wearing braces and finally I have a gap that's supposedly wide enough for the ortho to give me the go ahead and expose my canine. I'll be getting a local anaesthetic so I'm kinda nervous about the pain and everything icky that's associated with surgery and the post-op. I'm just crossing my fingers that the gold chain will be successfully bonded to my impacted tooth as the oral surgeon did mention that the bonding was the tricky part. Smth about getting the tooth dry enough to be bonded with the chain. For now, I'm just hoping the chain will stay unbroken. Anyway so that's just a little brief info about me. I hope things are going well for the rest of you. And let's just have a positive mindset no matter what :)

[happilysmith]

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking on the board for a while now researching and learning more about impacted cuspids. I finally decided I wanted to - and really needed to - get braces this year. As a child my parents were afraid of the cost of braces, so I never even saw an orthodontist as a child or teen, which is why I am now facing the problem at 25. I have two impacted cuspids, one upper and one lower - both on the left side. Fortunately the upper cuspid on x-rays appears to be just above the baby tooth and in the perfect position, it simply needs more room to come in. Unfortunately the lower would require exposure surgery and the little gold chain. Additionally the other lower cuspid came in behind the right lateral incisor horizontally and twisted, so it will also need to be pulled into the arch.

I had my first visit to the ortho for a consultation a couple months ago, and had planned to go have a few other opinions. I have since become very busy with job interviews and have accepted an offer to a job I really want that I hope will become a lifelong career. I did not mention anything of my plans to get braces during the interview process or when I accepted the offer since I had not officially taken any steps further than the investigation process toward actually getting braces. Now I am unsure of how to bring about the topic of time off to get braces and make it to appointments to the orthodontist. I would feel more comfortable doing this with a job where I am already well established, but my new concerns are that my new colleagues will a) think that I am the type who takes off work too often and b) not take me as seriously with braces and 2-3 huge gaps in my mouth. Everything I've read suggests that one should not request time off during the first 90 days for anything but emergencies. I want to just wait until I feel my new colleagues and supervisor trust that I am not just trying to milk this new position for time off right off the bat, however that top primary tooth is quite loose since the cuspid is right above it, and I fear if I do not start the process now I will lose the primary and simply have a gap. Wondering how others have dealt with employers and time off, are they normally understanding for orthodontic reasons? Unfortunately my area does not seem to have orthodontists that work late or on the weekends.

I don't even have braces yet and I'm convinced that impacted cuspids are the worst!

[Eve255]

[quote="millersgirl"]Hey guys....
been a while since I've updated.
Just more of the same here. My teeth and midline have shifted so horrifically that I'm about ready to just quit trying. I don't think the tooth has made any real progress based on an Xray I had last week.
I don't want an implant so I think I'm going to see if I can just have the impacted tooth removed along with the normal canine and then just close the gaps. I know my ortho is heavily against this but I really don't want an implant.
I'm crushed but enough is enough.

Here's a pic...my front teeth are completely pushed over.

[attachment=0]image1.JPG[/attachment][/quote]

I'm sorry to hear that it wasn't a success but at least you tried (I know that's not much consolation though). I have been reading that a few people have said that their front teeth ended up off the midline and what I don't understand is why they have to shift the front teeth, why not move the teeth from the other side to widen the gap as there should only be 4 teeth to move (not counting any wisdom teeth)?
I also want to say for any others who don't get a success from the canine op, is that wearing a bridge is not really that bad. The one I had was a bit old fashioned but I forgot that I had it most of the time and no one realised it was a fake. Also, my dentist said that they have much better quality types now that fit better and look great like a real tooth, so it' not a bad alternative. I might still go down that route and not bother with the canine impaction stuff.

Anyway, hope you end up with a good alternative result.

Eve

[SandSnake]

[double post]

[SandSnake]

Welcome, sadiered! I had some mild pain on the day of the surgery but after that it didn't hurt at all. My teeth getting adjusted to the pressure from the braces was way worse of a pain. Wishing you luck.

I have been reading that a few people have said that their front teeth ended up off the midline and what I don't understand is why they have to shift the front teeth, why not move the teeth from the other side to widen the gap as there should only be 4 teeth to move (not counting any wisdom teeth)?

Pretty much all my teeth have shifted. My smile is very lopsided right now, something i've become quite self conscious about.It's probably the springs, they're not designed to just push on one side.

I think my canine is finally down to where it's suppose to be but I won't know for sure until I go see my ortho in about two weeks. I'm hoping like hell that he'll tell me it's done. Then it will be all about moving all my teeth back into place.

After I got the gum around the tooth lasered off, it moved incredibly fast. If that's an option your ortho brings up for you, I strongly recommend it.

[Eve255]

After I got the gum around the tooth lasered off, it moved incredibly fast. If that's an option your ortho brings up for you, I strongly recommend it.[/quote]

That's great that the gum lasering worked, but does that part of the gum grow back again? Don't you need it to keep the tooth in place? Apologies for my ignorance on this matter, I've still to go through it all

[Divatoof]

Hi All,

Fellow impacted canine sufferer here. I've decided to go the braces route as I wanted my own tooth. I have called this tooth a 'diva' because it is all about IT. I would have never gotten braces...Just for ONE tooth! My baby tooth never came out and I started getting headaches a couple years back when I took up running. Went to a dentist and saw the canine that was apparently causing all the fuss. It appears to already be pointing downwards.

I got fitted for braces and extracted the baby tooth shortly afterwards. My braces don't bother me much. It's just an adjustment. What does bother me is the gap for vanity reasons. Well, after making space for some time with the spring. They 'activated' the pulling by using an elastic back in about June or so. but prior they would tighten the wire to the main brace wire. I feel immense pressure. Can anyone confirm they felt this when they have the tooth pulled on? It feels like focused sinus pressure. More so over the past two weeks. My front teeth are pushed one side alot, and a bit out.

The ortho said that is a very good sign. However said the tooth is moving thru bone so it will take time. Ive had these things on for about a yr. A very testing year..

Your feed back would be great. :)

Thanks for the stories shared. comforting to know others dealing with this plight.

[Eve255]

Well I'm off to the see the ortho today to decide on a treatment plan for my impacted canine. I must admit, I sort of wish I hadn't found this thread as I feel really pesimistic about it all now and wish I had been left in ignorant bliss LOL (grr google) although it may have been a good thing. I'm don't think I will go ahead with the surgery/braces option as now I know the likely failure and I'm not sure if I can go through years of pain and waiting in the knowledge I have little guarantee of success, especially with it being so costly. I will see what the ortho has to say about it but I think I've pretty much made up my mind.

Oh well .

[Siobhan]

I was one of those candidates that when you google the chances of successfully bringing down the canine ("over 40"), the news is not good.

I'm happy to say the canine came down and I'm just back from my debanding. It's certainly not perfect and I can easily pick my teeth to bits for hours, but I'm happy with the results. Here's a quick pic from the Ortho chair. The new canine is on the left in the picture. You can see it's a little tilted and a slightly shorter. I asked my Ortho about it and she said she could continue to tweak it but she was satisfied. Ultimately, I decided the costs (mouth continually ripped to shreds from braces, concerns about bone loss) outweighed the benefits.

Good luck to everyone going through this process and thanks for keeping this thread going.

[Divatoof]

[quote="Siobhan"]I was one of those candidates that when you google the chances of successfully bringing down the canine ("over 40"), the news is not good.

I'm happy to say the canine came down and I'm just back from my debanding. It's certainly not perfect and I can easily pick my teeth to bits for hours, but I'm happy with the results. Here's a quick pic from the Ortho chair. The new canine is on the left in the picture. You can see it's a little tilted and a slightly shorter. I asked my Ortho about it and she said she could continue to tweak it but she was satisfied. Ultimately, I decided the costs (mouth continually ripped to shreds from braces, concerns about bone loss) outweighed the benefits.

Good luck to everyone going through this process and thanks for keeping this thread going.[/quote]
Hey Siobhan,

Can you confirm how the tooth felt when it was moving down? was it similar to sinus pressure.

If anyone else can describe how it felt please share thanks!

[Siobhan]

I was one of those candidates that when you google the chances of successfully bringing down the canine ("over 40"), the news is not good.

I'm happy to say the canine came down and I'm just back from my debanding. It's certainly not perfect and I can easily pick my teeth to bits for hours, but I'm happy with the results. Here's a quick pic from the Ortho chair. The new canine is on the left in the picture. You can see it's a little tilted and a slightly shorter. I asked my Ortho about it and she said she could continue to tweak it but she was satisfied. Ultimately, I decided the costs (mouth continually ripped to shreds from braces, concerns about bone loss) outweighed the benefits.

Good luck to everyone going through this process and thanks for keeping this thread going.

Hey Siobhan,

Can you confirm how the tooth felt when it was moving down? was it similar to sinus pressure.

If anyone else can describe how it felt please share thanks!

Not sure I'd describe it as sinus pressure, but definitely pressure and sensitivity in surrounding teeth.

[Divatoof]

[quote="Siobhan"][quote="Divatoof"][quote="Siobhan"]I was one of those candidates that when you google the chances of successfully bringing down the canine ("over 40"), the news is not good.

I'm happy to say the canine came down and I'm just back from my debanding. It's certainly not perfect and I can easily pick my teeth to bits for hours, but I'm happy with the results. Here's a quick pic from the Ortho chair. The new canine is on the left in the picture. You can see it's a little tilted and a slightly shorter. I asked my Ortho about it and she said she could continue to tweak it but she was satisfied. Ultimately, I decided the costs (mouth continually ripped to shreds from braces, concerns about bone loss) outweighed the benefits.

Good luck to everyone going through this process and thanks for keeping this thread going.[/quote]
Hey Siobhan,

Can you confirm how the tooth felt when it was moving down? was it similar to sinus pressure.

If anyone else can describe how it felt please share thanks![/quote]

Not sure I'd describe it as sinus pressure, but definitely pressure and sensitivity in surrounding teeth.[/quote]
This is what I've been experiencing.

The Orthos told me that's good. But wanted to know also from someone who went thru it to confirm lol.

Thank you for the reply. ☺️