Exposure of Impacted Teeth
What is an impacted tooth?
An impacted tooth simply means that it is “stuck” and cannot erupt into function. Patients frequently develop problems with impacted third molar (wisdom) teeth. These teeth get “stuck” in the back of the jaw and can develop painful infections, among a host of other problems (see Wisdom Teeth under Procedures). Since there is rarely a functional need for wisdom teeth, they are usually extracted if they develop problems. The maxillary cuspid (upper eyetooth) is the second most common tooth to become impacted. The cuspid tooth is a critical tooth and plays an important role in your “bite”. The cuspid teeth are very strong biting teeth and have the longest roots of any human teeth. They are designed to be the first teeth that touch when your jaws close together so they guide the rest of the teeth into the proper bite.
Normally, the maxillary cuspid teeth are the last of the “front” teeth to erupt into place. They usually come into place around age 13 and cause any space left between the upper front teeth to close tighter together. If a cuspid tooth gets impacted, every effort is made to get it to erupt into its proper position. The techniques involved to aid eruption can be applied to any impacted tooth in the upper or lower jaw, but most commonly they are applied to the maxillary cuspid (upper eye) teeth. Sixty percent of these impacted eyeteeth are located on the palatal (roof of the mouth) side of the dental arch. The remaining impacted eye teeth are found in the middle of the supporting bone, but are stuck in an elevated position above the roots of the adjacent teeth, or are out to the facial side of the dental arch.
Expose and bond is a surgical procedure where Dr. Stigall will work with your orthodontist to help achieve the overall desired goal for your smile. Depending upon the location of the impacted tooth, a surgical incision will be made to expose the tooth and a bracket usually will be bonded to the tooth and anchored with a gold chain to your braces. The surgical site will then be sutured. The gold chain will be activated by your orthodontist. Sometimes a gold chain and/or bracket will not be applied, this treatment is chosen for those that the orthodontist feels that the tooth/teeth will passively come into the mouth once exposed. Once the surgical site is sutured, a packing may be applied to the site to deter the tissue covering the tooth until you see your orthodontist. If the packing falls out it is nothing to worry about. Please make sure you keep your follow up appointment with your orthodontist.
EXPOSE AND BOND WITH BRACKET AND CHAIN
Exposure and Bracketing of an Impacted Cuspid
What to expect from surgery to expose & bracket an impacted tooth
The surgery to expose and bracket an impacted tooth is a very straightforward surgical procedure that is performed in the oral surgeon’s office. For most patients, it is performed using laughing gas and local anesthesia. In selected cases it will be performed under IV sedation, but this is generally not necessary for this procedure.
Refer to Preoperative Instructions under Surgical Instructions on this website for a review of any details. Simply call Implants and Orofacial Surgery Specialists at Cincinnati Office Phone Number 859-525-0022 if you have any questions.