Impacted tooth is the tooth that has not yet erupted in time, despite having its place in mouth. Impacted teeth may remain lodged inside the jawbone, or may lodge inside the gums, soft tissue. Cases where parts of the teeth have erupted and partially visible from the gum is called partially impacted teeth.
Why does teeth remain impacted?
There may be various factors causing a tooth to remain impacted. The first is genetic factors, the next is the lack of space in mouth caused by small jaw bones, where the neighboring tooth moves and blocks the path of the impacted one or caused by patient having smaller jaw and bigger teeth, untreated decayed tooth or early removal of primary teeth causing misalignment of space.
How is the treatment?
Impacted teeth, if located in an aesthetically important location, must be treated to take their place in the jaw arc line-up. With orthodontic treatments or dental surgery operations the impacted tooth can be brought to their proper location in dental arc. If their position does not allow for that, they can be removed or can be left in place with frequent checks.
How is an Impacted tooth removed?
Before an impacted tooth is removed, its nearby environ must first be examined, to see whether the neighboring teeth will be affected from this removal. The location of an impacted tooth must be carefully observed, for their proximity to their jaw and lip nerves on the lower mandible, and for the upper mandible, their proximity to sinuses, whether they are located in a cystic or tumorous tissue, or whether there is any internal bleeding, the impacted tooth’s angle or curvature, its possible damaging effects on the tooth on top, its distance to the tongue nerve, these are all must be carefully considered. In a successful operation, the impacted tooth is carefully removed without damaging the nearby tissue while the patient is under local or general anesthesia.
Should the impacted teeth be removed before orthodontics treatment?
Impacted teeth remain under the gum tissue or inside the jaw bone in various positions. Depending on these positions, these impacted teeth usually pus into the tooth in front of them, and may push other teeth, which in turn may cause misalignment in front teeth. These crooked teeth may delay the results of orthodontic treatment, the risk of decay increases, discoloration and abnormal colors may occur in teeth and various disorders, such as gum complications may occur. One a side note, the removed teeth may shorten the duration of orthodontic treatment and may prevent the teeth from returning to non-ideal alignments. For this reason, with the orthodontist’s recommendations, patients have their impacted teeth generally removed before orthodontic treatment.
