Impacted Teeth

When a permanent tooth does not fully erupt, or does not erupt at all, the tooth is impacted. This is a relatively common occurrence, and for some people, an impacted tooth does not cause any problems. For others,an impacted tooth may result in pain, bite misalignment and other complications.

A tooth can become impacted for a variety of different reasons. A tooth may not erupt or only partially erupt if the mouth is already overcrowded. If your jaw lacks sufficient room for additional teeth, it can prevent the tooth from fully erupting. Another possible cause for impaction is the displacement of the tooth. It may begin to emerge at an odd angle, which can prevent full eruption.

An orthodontist should examine you before the extraction decision of the impacted tooth. Some of the impacted teeth may erupt by means of the orthodontic treatment.If this is not possible, extraction of the impacted tooth may be required.