Is it normal for adult teeth to take a long time to come in? At what point do you start to get concerned?
DS lost a lateral incisor in November (I think, I’m trying to find a picture to figure out when it happened) and is not showing any signs of an adult tooth. He also has no room for one anyway, as his two (adult) incisors have almost completely filled in the space. Here we come, orthodontics! Fml lol
Yes. The bigger teeth can take a long time to come in. I think it took DD 5-6 months for one tooth. Now that we are in round two of losing teeth I expect some will take even longer.
My DD lost her two from teeth at the same time in December of 2018. It took one of them about 7 months to start growing in and the other almost a year.
Post by timorousbeastie on Feb 24, 2020 9:34:00 GMT -5
Most of DD’s teeth have been slow to grow in. One in particular, the baby tooth was lost in October 2018; there still is no sign of the adult tooth coming in yet.
One of my kid's 6y molars is stuck above his baby teeth. The dentist saw it on an x-ray over a year ago and we've been keeping an eye on it. We've reached the point that the baby tooth needs to get pulled to allow that molar to come down.
Is the adult tooth visible on x-ray? Has the dentist mentioned anything during checkups?
At his last dentist appointment he LOST HIS SHIT when they tried to do the xrays (?) so I’m not sure. They said it wasn’t a big deal and they’d try again next time. Hopefully he lets them. His last appointment was prior to losing this tooth, but they otherwise didn’t mention anything about adult/baby teeth.
This is reassuring. All of his other adult teeth were already coming in (puke lol that traumatized me briefly the first time) or broke through almost immediately, so this caught me off guard.
Yes. I didn't initially know it was normal because my older child only lost baby teeth when the adult teeth pushed them out. But my younger kid went 6 or more months after losing a baby tooth before getting adult teeth. She had previously had an xray, so I knew they were in there somewhere!
DS1’s lateral incisors took FOREVER to come in. We went for a (free) consultation with my orthodontist, and he recommended pulling the canines. There was no room for the lateral incisors to come in. He said that removing the canines buys us time, hoping his mouth grows before the canines are ready to come in. More importantly, the lateral incisors WERE going to come in...and if there wasn’t room in their correct place, they’d make a place elsewhere. He felt (and our dentist agreed) that we would have the best chances for proper placement and less intensive orthodontic work in the future if we had the canines removed. He had all 4 of them pulled at the same time in the fall. The lateral incisors started to come in soon after that. They’ve settled into decent placement (one had originally emerged WAY above where it should have been. So far, I think we made the right choice. The procedure was quick and he was only uncomfortable for that afternoon.
I’m really glad we went for the consultation. It likely saved us a lot of pain & money in the future! I certain he will still require orthodontics, but hopefully just basic braces. Time will tell! They offer free annual (I believe) consultations for kids, obviously building a relationship for future work to be done. It’s just important to choose someone you trust.
ETA: I just read about his last visit. This may not be the best route for you. My boys oddly LOVE the dentist (it’s just an regular family office, so no fancy TVs on the ceiling or other things to entertain kids), and once DS1 heard I was considering calling the ortho, he was begging to go! Strange...but it worked in our favor this time. In your son’s case, I’d be more likely to wait and talk to the dentist. A good relationship with oral health is incredibly important at his age, and I’d do whatever possible to encourage that.
I’d go see an orthodontist now. Even though he freaked out at the dentist last time it doesn’t guarantee he will freak out at the orthodontist too. The consultations are usually free. My DS didn’t even have room in his mouth for his baby teeth (they were sideways) so when his front top two teeth fell out and his adult teeth started to come in and it was painfully obvious there was nowhere near enough room we took him to the orthodontist. Because he was a mouth breather and a terrible snorer his jaw was actually developing asymmetrically and it caused the narrow palate so he didn’t have enough room for his teeth. In any case the orthodontist recommended seeing an ENT to consider if his tonsils and adenoids needed to be removed to help him breathe through his nose instead. So he had his tonsils and adenoids out last October (this was a godsend for a lot of other reasons). And then he had 2 teeth pulled in December to give more room/time for his adult teeth to come in. And he will get a palate expander in June. So far he’s had 2 free orthodontist visits and hasn’t even started orthodontic treatment (and won’t until it’s been nearly a year since our first visit). He was 7.5 when we first went and will be 8.5 when we finally start treatment.
In any case, I think the earlier the better because of there is other stuff going on with the airway and such earlier is better to deal with it because it can be remedied easier when they are younger and reverse something easier.
One of my DDs front teeth took over 6 months to come in. We had a routine X-ray done at 6 months and saw the tooth was there and in the four position to come down, but they said they wouldn’t worry until it’s be 9-12 months.
My DS’s top front teeth nearly took a year to come in. I remember being worried at one point and dentist said he could take xrays to alleviate my fears but not to worry.
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Feb 24, 2020 12:38:50 GMT -5
Yes. DD lost the top 4 teeth all at once, and the front 2 came in pretty quickly, but the ones next to the front teeth (are those the ones you are talking about?) took about a year and a half to come in. We did get sent to orthos for consults, and 2 said we could do an expander and phase 1 of braces now to try to make more room, and then do a 2nd set of braces when all her adult teeth are in, but the 3rd showed us research and many pictures saying that you only get a few mm of space from an expander, and that her teeth WILL come in, they will just be high and funky looking, but there is no issue other than cosmetic causing her to need braces now, so we would be fine to wait and he could fix it completely once they are all in. We went with the 3rd guy, and her teeth did come in and are high, and her canines will likely be high too. But I'm confident they will be fixed eventually...
DS1 is almost 13. He lost a top canine last June and STILL nothing. We know the adult tooth is there due to xrays. It’s causing drama because he can’t start his braces until it grows in (and he’s a slow teeth loser anyway so he’s already the last of his friends to get braces). The dentist thus far is unconcerned but we shall see when we go back next week
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a consultation by age 7 to evaluate for the type of stuff you are asking about. In my office, sometimes we take a panoramic X-ray on a 7 or 8 year old to see where the unerupted teeth are hiding. Or sometimes they are not hiding - they are missing (as in they never developed) and it's good info for the parents to know. Sometimes I will say to come back in a year and when they do return, the teeth have made their way down so they were just really stubborn and slow. If the child is 7 years old and scared and having a lot of anxiety about being in my office, I will usually say come back in a year. That year often makes a difference in maturity and the next time they come in all calm and taking an xray is no big deal. There are very few instances I encounter where knowing the answer at 7 versus 8 of why a tooth didn't erupt yet would make a huge difference in the outcome.
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a consultation by age 7 to evaluate for the type of stuff you are asking about. In my office, sometimes we take a panoramic X-ray on a 7 or 8 year old to see where the unerupted teeth are hiding. Or sometimes they are not hiding - they are missing (as in they never developed) and it's good info for the parents to know. Sometimes I will say to come back in a year and when they do return, the teeth have made their way down so they were just really stubborn and slow. If the child is 7 years old and scared and having a lot of anxiety about being in my office, I will usually say come back in a year. That year often makes a difference in maturity and the next time they come in all calm and taking an xray is no big deal. There are very few instances I encounter where knowing the answer at 7 versus 8 of why a tooth didn't erupt yet would make a huge difference in the outcome.
Thank you!!!!!
He’s 6.5. He’s never had dentist anxiety before, and it was just about the xrays (he was fine for the rest of the exam)- he was convinced he was going to choke, and I have no idea why (he’s never had a previous bad experience etc). He’s been going to the dentist since 2).
My brother had a very narrow/small jaw and had to have (4?) adult teeth pulled for his braces. So I’ve been low level concerned about something like that.
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a consultation by age 7 to evaluate for the type of stuff you are asking about. In my office, sometimes we take a panoramic X-ray on a 7 or 8 year old to see where the unerupted teeth are hiding. Or sometimes they are not hiding - they are missing (as in they never developed) and it's good info for the parents to know. Sometimes I will say to come back in a year and when they do return, the teeth have made their way down so they were just really stubborn and slow. If the child is 7 years old and scared and having a lot of anxiety about being in my office, I will usually say come back in a year. That year often makes a difference in maturity and the next time they come in all calm and taking an xray is no big deal. There are very few instances I encounter where knowing the answer at 7 versus 8 of why a tooth didn't erupt yet would make a huge difference in the outcome.
Thank you!!!!!
He’s 6.5. He’s never had dentist anxiety before, and it was just about the xrays (he was fine for the rest of the exam)- he was convinced he was going to choke, and I have no idea why (he’s never had a previous bad experience etc). He’s been going to the dentist since 2).
My brother had a very narrow/small jaw and had to have (4?) adult teeth pulled for his braces. So I’ve been low level concerned about something like that.
I should rephrase that to say "The AAO recommends a consult starting at age 7." So bring your kids age 7 and older, no referral from a dentist needed (usually). Bring them before age 7 if the dentist recommends it.
Post by ellipses84 on Feb 24, 2020 22:57:14 GMT -5
DS1 has a couple of top teeth that are taking a long time to come in. We went to the dentist this week and the most recent x-rays show there is a ton of crowding and not much room to grow in between his adult front teeth and side baby teeth. They recommend the orthodontist, ASAP, because they can do a lot to correct it and his overbite now but it gets more difficult when he’s older (they have an on site orthodontist who took a quick peek). I knew that was coming but he suddenly developed a dentist phobia at his last cleaning over the summer when his old dentist tried to put sealants on
He’s 8.5 and I knew as soon as his adult teeth started growing in he’s need major dental work because it looks like a combo of my sister and DHs really messed up teeth. We also switched dentists because we’d only gone to the other one a couple times and IMO they weren’t very good with kids there, which I think is a prerequisite for a pediatric dentist...he did gain the courage to go back for sealants but I think we might have to use anesthesia for braces.
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a consultation by age 7 to evaluate for the type of stuff you are asking about. In my office, sometimes we take a panoramic X-ray on a 7 or 8 year old to see where the unerupted teeth are hiding. Or sometimes they are not hiding - they are missing (as in they never developed) and it's good info for the parents to know. Sometimes I will say to come back in a year and when they do return, the teeth have made their way down so they were just really stubborn and slow. If the child is 7 years old and scared and having a lot of anxiety about being in my office, I will usually say come back in a year. That year often makes a difference in maturity and the next time they come in all calm and taking an xray is no big deal. There are very few instances I encounter where knowing the answer at 7 versus 8 of why a tooth didn't erupt yet would make a huge difference in the outcome.
Thank you!!!!!
He’s 6.5. He’s never had dentist anxiety before, and it was just about the xrays (he was fine for the rest of the exam)- he was convinced he was going to choke, and I have no idea why (he’s never had a previous bad experience etc). He’s been going to the dentist since 2).
My brother had a very narrow/small jaw and had to have (4?) adult teeth pulled for his braces. So I’ve been low level concerned about something like that.
Depending on mouth geometry, the bite wing xrays can be super uncomfortable. I have a very small mouth and adult-sizes bite wings of my molars make me gag every single time because they press way into the back of my mouth. The last time I needed xrays I almost couldn’t do it. I can easily see a kid freaking out over this, especially with your description of him having a small mouth.