When you need pediatric dental care in Folsom visit http://TheToothStation.com
• What do you think? Like, favorite, subscribe, share and make a comment.
Baby tooth stuck in bone - Ankylosis of primary tooth
Photo 1a
This condition technically referred to as Ankylosis is when the tooth, in this case a baby tooth, becomes stuck in the bone and does not continue its normal upward journey into the mouth as the other teeth do.
You can see in the X-ray that the middle tooth is not as high up as the two teeth on either side. If this situation is left untreated the other teeth in the mouth will continue to move upwards but the ankylosed tooth will stay below and eventually will be buried in the gums. This leads to abnormal bone formation in the jaw.
In addition, the adult or permanent tooth underneath the baby tooth has a tendency not to be pointed in a completely upward direction but is oriented to one side or the other. It can also been seen in this X-ray that the adult tooth is pointed to the side of the mouth and not directly upwards.
Photo 2.
It is a frequent occurrence to have more than one Ankylosed baby tooth in the mouth at the same time and usually it is the tooth on the opposite side of the mouth as is seen in this X-ray.
Photo 3.
This photo is of the same tooth seen in the first X-ray and clearly shows the tooth below the level of the other teeth. Notice how close the gums are to the top surface of the tooth as compared to the tooth behind it.
Photo 4.
Treatment is to remove the teeth that are ankylosed as can be seen in this photo. The reason removal is necessary it to allow for normal bone growth of the jaw and aid in allowing the permanent tooth to up right itself and come in to the mouth in a more correct position.
Photo 5.
This photo was taken immediately after the removal of the ankylosed tooth. But removal of the tooth is not all of the treatment needed. If nothing else is done after the removal of the tooth, the tooth behind the one removed will move forward and eventually take the place of the tooth that was removed. This creates orthodontic problems such as crowding.
Photo 1b
Remember there is still a permanent tooth, underneath in the bone, below the baby tooth that was removed and if the tooth behind the one that was removed moves forward there will not be room for the permanent tooth to come in.
Photo 6.
To prevent the tooth behind the tooth removed from moving forward a device such as this called a space maintainer is placed in the mouth and glued to the back teeth.
Photo 7.
This photo shows how the space maintainer works to prevent the back teeth from moving forward. There is a small wire attached to the bands around the back teeth that is located inside all of the lower teeth. The wire rests against the inside of the lower teeth and thus prevents the back teeth from moving forward.
Be the first to comment