Impacted Canine

Impacted canines is a condition that prevents one or both of the fang-like teeth at the front of your mouth from breaking through the gumline. Without treatment, impacted canines can affect the rest of your healthy teeth, tissue, and even jawbone. At Associated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons in Danbury, Southbury, and Ridgefield, Connecticut, dental implant specialists Roger Badwal, DMD, MD, and Anthony Camillo, DMD, specialize in diagnosing and treating impacted canines with the proper care it deserves. Call Associated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons today or book an appointment online to learn more about impacted canines.

What are impacted canines?

The canines are the two teeth at the front of your mouth that are pointy and look like fangs. Typically, they break through the gumline without any issues, but if they become impacted, you become more at risk of infection, misalignments, and other oral health problems.

If you experience pain, swelling, or increased sensitivity at the front of your mouth, contact the team at Associated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons immediately.

What are the symptoms of impacted canines?

The symptoms of impacted canines include:

• Red, swollen, or bleeding gums
• Bad breath
• Bad taste in your mouth
• Difficulty opening your mouth
• Pain when biting, chewing, or speaking

Depending on the severity of the impaction, your symptoms might last for days or weeks, or they might come and go. 

Do impacted canines require treatment?

If you’re concerned about having impacted canines, make an appointment at Associated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons. Without intervention, a cyst can form around the crown of your tooth, causing infection or damage to the surrounding tooth roots.

Treatment at Associated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons can prevent both of these issues from occurring and restore confidence in your oral health.

How are impacted canines diagnosed?

To diagnose impacted canines, the team at Associated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons reviews your dental records, asks about your symptoms, and takes a series of oral X-rays. If your X-rays show impacted canines, they develop a custom treatment plan.

How are impacted canines treated?

Treatment of impacted canines depends on various factors, including your oral health history and the location of the impacted tooth. The team might recommend:

Open exposure

During open exposure, the team numbs your mouth with a local anesthetic and carefully raises the gum tissue around your impacted tooth. Next, they place a “healing pack” over your tooth, which prevents your gum tissue from growing back over the opening, allowing your canine to break through the gumline. 

Several weeks later, you return to Associated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons to monitor your progress.

Closed exposure

Closed exposure is similar to open exposure. The difference is that after raising your gum tissue, the team bonds a gold bracket to your impacted tooth. The gold bracket connects to a chain that guides your impacted tooth into the proper position.

Pro-prosthetic surgery

Sometimes impacted canines require additional pre-prosthetic surgery, which smooths or reshapes your gum and bone tissue in preparation for dentures or dental implants.

Call Associated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons today or book an appointment online to learn more about impacted canines..