Impacted canine teeth

Impacted canine teeth

The canine is the longest tooth in our mouths, and is critical for guiding the lower jaw into the proper bite.

It starts to form at 4-5 months of age, almost 11 years before it is due. At first it is just under the eye socket yet it is one of the last teeth to come in.

The Upper canines ,like wisdom teeth, have a tendency to go off course (probably because they are the last ones in). Impacted teeth are ones that cannot fit in. 2/3rds of impacted canines are in the roof of the mouth (see photo) and unfairly this happens more often to girls.

If we catch these ‘off course’ teeth early enough (normally at 10ish), then some can be encouraged into the mouth by extracting the overlying baby canines. In extreme cases (like above) the impacted canine may need removing surgically as some can damage the neighbouring teeth.