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Hello Dr. Hall, Sandy, This would have been pretty simple had it been addressed when the baby tooth came out. Your daughter could have had a temporary flipper partial replacing the one missing lateral incisor, and it would have looked okay and would have served until you were ready for a permanent tooth replacement. Anyway, the second dentist is right. Not just from an esthetic standpoint, but also from a functional standpoint, the canine tooth should be moved back to where it belongs and an implant placed. The canine tooth is a key tooth and one of its functions is to protect the back teeth from sideways stresses. It has a very long root and it is a thick tooth, and in a normal bite it absorbs the sideways stresses when you chew. This is called canine-protected occlusion. If that tooth is out of place, your daughter could develop costly complications later in life. And then there are the esthetic issues. Because of its size and shape, it is very difficult to make the smile look normal when you have this canine tooth in the place of the lateral incisor. The lateral incisor is a delicate tooth and thin. There is no way to make the canine that thin so it looks like a lateral without destroying the tooth. There are ways to move front teeth without conventional braces, and maybe she would be okay with one of those methods. There is Invisalign, that can move the teeth with clear plastic aligners so that no one will know she has braces on. Is that what her objection is–she doesn’t want to be seen with braces? If your dentist hasn’t suggested this, just search for an Invisalign dentist near you. Or there is Six-Month Smiles, a technique for moving just front teeth quickly. That might work for her. Her smile is so important for her social relationships, especially at her age. I would encourage her to get this done. Dr. Hall Here’s an example of what it looks like Click here to ask Dr. Hall a question of your own. |
About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.