Son with Extra Tooth

Updated on November 04, 2010
A.G. asks from Foxboro, MA
8 answers

I know this subject title sounds odd, but, yes, my son does indeed have an extra tooth. He has eleven teeth on the top and ten on the bottom. So, I'm looking for moms who've had similiar experiences.
He'll be four in a few weeks. His teeth didn't start coing in until he was almost a year old (all my kids were a little late with this though). First, this tooth came in in his upper pallete, far behind the others. Over time, it has moved forward and wedged itself between his incisors and the canine tooth on the left side. This has caused his front teeth to jut forward and also made them a little crooked. I've been to the denist with him a few times, and all she's said is that we'll keep an eye on it as he grows. She wants to see him once a year. I'm assuming little can be done until he loses all his baby teeth and the adult teeth come in.
But I still want to ask you all, if you've experienced this and what was done for the child's teeth. If it falls out, will an extra adult tooth also replace it? Does it need to be pulled? What can I expect for braces / retainers in the future? Can anything be done now for him?
Also, I'd like to add that there is some speculation that his sippy cup (Gerber) that he used for about a year from his first birthday to his second, may have caused his overbite. Frankly, I think this had little to do with it as the overbite is really only one-sided where this tooth is. But I'd love some feedback on that too.

Thanks so much in advance. This is really weighing on my conscience.

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E.M.

answers from Johnstown on

It's quite possible that he won't have the extra tooth come in as a permanent one. Or it's possible that he does...I believe the only way to know for sure is that you'll have to wait until he gets old enough for the permanent ones to form above the baby ones and then have him xrayed...and I think that doesn't happen until atleast the age of 6 or 7 yrs. As for the overbite--again, you really can't tell how severe it's going to be until he gets older. The school notified me that our oldest was 'detected to have an extreme overbite and deepset lower jaw...orthodontic work is highly recommended to begin immediately'. She was 8. I took her to my own family ortho and was informed that he absoltutely will not even look at a child's mouth for orthodontic work until they reach 14 yrs--they're still growing and their bodies are still changing. Praying all goes well for you both!

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

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S.P.

answers from Nashville on

im a dental assistant and i worked for an oral surgeon. If its not bothering him then they will wait until he looses his baby teeth in a couple of years. He may have an extra tooth come in when he gets his adult teeth. If he does they will more in likely pull it. We had a bunch of people come in and get there extra tooth pulled. I would wait until his baby teeth fall out:) as long as its not bothering him.

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M.L.

answers from Houston on

No experience in this. But, why can't they pull it now to avoid any future problems? I understand the thought of this may be traumatic and its a semi-major dental procedure. But, as someone who suffered major dental work for straight teeth and an overbite, one day of pulling a tooth really beats years of a mouth expander and braces! I would think pull it if it could shorten the time worn or totally free him of braces!
If an adult tooth is going to come in behind it, they could monitor this on x-rays to take it out before it comes in. Some kids have extra baby teeth though, so, I'm gonna guess this is what's going on with your son.

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L.C.

answers from Boston on

My son had an extra tooth and they "watched it" and as he got older they were able to do x-rays to see how his adult teeth were forming to be sure that he had the right amount of teeth. When his baby teeth started falling out we had the extra tooth removed. He also had a crowding problem, we met with 2 orthodontist who had two very different suggestions. One wanted to go in and remove the remaining baby teeth and possibly a couple of adult teeth and put him in braces. The second suggested expanding his jaw with a retainer. After talking it over with his doctor he agreed with the second too, to try to keep all his teeth and make room for them. If this failed we always had plan B. After the retainers it seemed to work his mouth is definitely less crowded, his teeth are not perfectly straight but we can always pursue braces at a later date, but he is a boy. Hope this helps.

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S.C.

answers from Fort Wayne on

My daughter has an extra tooth. it's fused to another of her teeth. Our pediatric dentist said there's really nothing he can do about it. He did state that he could pull it, but he would have to pull both teeth. We decided to take the wait and see approach. If it starts to cause her problems, then we'll discuss having it pulled.
I would think that if you wanted it pulled, a pediatric dentist could do it. There's no way of knowing, right now, if he'll have an extra adult tooth as well. Our dentist told me that you can't see the adult teeth in the jaw bone until kids are older, I think around 5.

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M.C.

answers from Savannah on

My son has an extra tooth that's actually fused to his incisor. It came in attached to the normal tooth. The dentist said they wouldn't do anything for it while he still has all his baby teeth. X-rays showed that he has an extra tooth with his adult teeth and that it's attached as well. So far, it isn't affecting his bite and it doesn't bother my son. The dentist said once the adult teeth come in, we could pull the extra tooth (I'm not sure how you pull one that's fused to a normal tooth) for aesthetic reasons, but if it's not bothering my son, I'm going to leave it alone.

R.G.

answers from Dallas on

My child also has an extra tooth...either that or she has one "T" shaped tooth, I'm not sure, but one tooth has what appears to be another one behind it and perpindicular to it. We haven't been to a dentist yet but her pedi. doesn't seem to concerned about it. Maybe this isn't so uncommon? In our case, I'm sure she got it from her daddy's side. =)

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