My Sons Adult Teeth Not Coming In?

Updated on June 30, 2011
L.D. asks from Farmington, MI
8 answers

My son is twelve years old. He has NEVER lost any of his own teeth. Over the last couple of years, the dentist suggested to have them pulled in fear of the bones hardening and the teeth not coming being able to come down. He had his last 6 teeth pulled 1 year ago. He will be thirteen this year and none of those six teeth have come through yet. My orthodontist suggests we wait another 6 months. But, I'm not sure what the reason could be nor could she provide me with an answer as to whether or not this is normal or whether I should be concerned. His teeth are very crooked and he's at an age where he's become quite self-consious of himself and we thought we would get him started with braces. But, because there are still 6 teeth missing, our orthodontist suggested we wait to see if some of the other teeth will eventually come in. He did have x-rays in December and he adult teeth look like they should've come down. But, nothing yet. I'm not sure how long is too long to wait. Afterall, he will be thirteen. What would cause the teeth not to fall out on their own? Why are they not erupting now ? How long should it take before they grow in ? I'm just looking for some answers....

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T.C.

answers from Dallas on

It can be hereditary. I had a baby tooth that wouldn't fall out. I was 16. so the dentist pulled it. I had braces, and so he cut into my gum, attached a bracket, added wires (attached to the rest of my braces), stitched it back up, and pulled my tooth down overtime. It looked a little weird to only see wires going up into my gums attached to a tooth we couldn't see.

Sounds nice, eh? Well, it wasn't! He killed my tooth doing it that way. He pulled my tooth down so fast, it severed the root and now I have a dead, yellow tooth there. And, I have nice teeth. It's very frustrating.

My dad (and several sisters) has similar issues with his tooth not falling out. His didn't fall out until he was 19 years old. I would have much rather waited until I was 19 for the tooth to fall out and then to be ready to grow in on it's own. If I could redo it, I would definitely NOT allow them to pull my tooth down. Oh, and when he cut into my gum to attach the bracket/wire, he cut into the nerve of my tooth next to it. My current dentist told me that it will likely die too. Nice. It really irritates me if I think about it very much.

It could be hereditary somehow. They might have jumped the gun in pulling his teeth before his others were ready to grow in. If they want to do anything similar to what they did to me, I highly recommend NOT doing it. Or make sure they do it very, very, very slowly.

good luck!

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L.H.

answers from New York on

I'd get lots of second opinions and ask to see the x-rays. You have a right to see all your son's dental records, since he's still a minor. You want to see the x-rays to make sure there are adult teeth waiting to come in. You also should view previous x-rays to see if the teeth even moved. Also, research, research, research. Look it up on the internet and anywhere you can. The more education you have on the subject, the better decision you can make. My son's 12 and he's finally loosing his baby teeth by the lot, but the adult teeth are growing in quickly. What you do not want to happen is to have the adult teeth come in behind or in front of the baby teeth, which can cause problems with the bite and jaw. If his teeth are crooked and you are definately sure they are not adult teeth, then they should be loose enough for him to wiggle out himself.

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N.G.

answers from Dallas on

My daughter is 7 and has had five teeth pulled in the past few months to make room for adult teeth to come in. Our pediatric dentist told us that it can take up to a year for the adult teeth to make their way in. You didn't say how long it has been since he had an x-ray but I would make sure to get one so that the dentist can see where his adult teeth are, or if they are poised to come in soon.

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J.C.

answers from New York on

When you got the xray, were the teeth there?

I'd get a second opinion and while you are there, ask which specialist you should see next. You might want to consider a temp denture like device so that he has teeth. 13 with all of those teeth missing must be hard for him.

Best of luck!!

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B.C.

answers from New York on

As I'm sure you know...every child has different growth pattern, including teeth. Besides genetics, most baby/adult teeth transitions have to do with bone formation and maturity. My son has always had strong and long roots that did not dissolve easily, thus he always had shark's teeth (double row with baby and adult teeth). He had 4 pre-molars pulled when he was 12 because panoramics showed the adult pre-molars being impacted. We thought that was going to be the worst of it. Then last year, right before he turned 14, we were told he would need facial surgery after maturity (17/18 of age) to correct his skeletal malocclusion of the lower jaw (skeletal underbite). Apparently all the panoramic x-rays from the age of 6 did not detect this until he was 14. By then it was too late for corrective gear. My suggestion is to get second opinions from orthodontists and oral surgeons if you are not comfortable with the current recommendations. I wish we had done that earlier even though we don't know if it would have made a difference. Better safe than sorry. Good luck.

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D.H.

answers from Louisville on

My youngest is soon to be 22 - and he still has 2 baby teeth, which he'll keep unless something happens! The dentist x-rayed in his teen years and there's no other teeth to come in for these 2! (he's lucky that he has no wisdom teeth to come either - none of the kids do - and neither do I!)

K.I.

answers from Los Angeles on

I am not sure about your son's exact situation but wanted to share our situation: My son got his 4 front (2top, 2bottom) baby teeth knocked out at a baseball practice. It took almost 3 years for his adult teeth to come in. Our dentist told us that when the baby teeth do not come out on their own, it takes A LOT longer for the adult teeth to come in b/c they simply were not ready yet.

I would get a 2nd opinion, just to be on the safe side. What are your alternatives? Is he gonna have to have fake teeth put in those 6 spots?

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