DD Missing Lateral Incisor Teeth (NO PERM. TEETH!) update#59

[illyaden]

My brother had a similar problem to this. One of his adult teeth fused with one of his baby teeth and they came in together, leaving no adult tooth to replace it. My parents went to several orthos who recommended implants, false teeth, etc. Finally one said it would be best to pull all the remaining teeth together. They decided to do that because implants, and other things (at least at the time) had to be replaced, or could be difficult and painful to put in. It worked out great for him, and even left room for his wisdoms to come in.

However, his missing tooth is on the bottom, so you wouldn't notice it unless you were looking. I'm not sure about the cosmetics of using the same procedure on your daughter, as her teeth are on the top; however, you may ask about filing those teeth to look more like the ones she's missing. I had to have my canine's filed down after my braces came off because they were too pointy and my ortho was afraid I would bite my lip or tongue. They did it right after I had my braces off, and right in the same place as I usually got them tightened/adjusted every month. Felt a bit weird and uncomfortable, but it's not at all dangerous and it doesn't hurt.

Good luck! She's adorable, by the way!

 

[pilesoflaundry]

She's adorabe!!! I'm missing a coupe of adut teeth. I'm missing the second tooth next to my incisor(so front tooth, then an incisor) They bonded my incisor so that it kind of filled in the gap, if that makes any sense, lol. I also stil have a baby tooth..the 4th tooth. I'm 41 and it's still there!

I think she is too. A very cute child.

Good luck op. For awhile we thought my dd didn't have some of her adult teeth because they were not coming in. The dentist took some extra x-rays and they were there. Dh had an extra wisdom tooth so I figured maybe she was missing some.

My son has a gap right now because 2 of his permanent teeth are too close together and it's blocking the third middle tooth from coming down. We can't start braces because we are moving this year and no ortho wants to do only half the process.

 

[weHEARTmickey]

Any advice on dental insurance? Is it too late? Do they disqualify "pre-existing conditions" like health ins? Thanks

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I am really surprised at the number of people missing teeth! I thought my DS was unusual. I wonder what would cause people to be missing teeth.

 

[ceecee]

All dental insurances have yearly maxs so it's a drop in the bucket ($1000-3000 is normal). She could very well keep the decideous teeth for a very long time. We have a lot of adults in our practice that have. When she is an adult she can do an implant, bridge or Maryland bridge (which is a false tooth with facings on each side that adhere to the adjacet teeth. This won't be done as a child. See several orthodontists and get several opinions before going forward. The gap may be small enough that they could move the teeth and adjust the shape a little so it won't look bad. Dentistry has come a long way and there is no reason to worry...she can have a great smile, it may cost a little more! Congentially missing teeth are quite common, we had a little girl in last week missing an upper incisor.

 

[weHEARTmickey]

I am really surprised at the number of people missing teeth! I thought my DS was unusual. I wonder what would cause people to be missing teeth.

I know!! I'd never heard of such until DD! I would wonder if it had to do w/ Mom's diet while pregnant or something like that. But DD was my FIRSTBORN & I was so ultra-careful that I didn't even sip an ounce of caffeine or do anything crazy while carrying her. (Although I did eat my fair share of tex-mex food & beef jerky)

All dental insurances have yearly maxs so it's a drop in the bucket ($1000-3000 is normal). She could very well keep the decideous teeth for a very long time. We have a lot of adults in our practice that have. When she is an adult she can do an implant, bridge or Maryland bridge (which is a false tooth with facings on each side that adhere to the adjacet teeth. This won't be done as a child. See several orthodontists and get several opinions before going forward. The gap may be small enough that they could move the teeth and adjust the shape a little so it won't look bad. Dentistry has come a long way and there is no reason to worry...she can have a great smile, it may cost a little more! Congentially missing teeth are quite common, we had a little girl in last week missing an upper incisor.

Thank you! So you're saying the $1k-$3k is the max that most insurances will pay, or how much dental insurance will cost us per year? (Sorry, I'm SO out of the loop)

 

[powellrj]

$18,000 6 years ago Should we find dental insurance QUICKLY??? (We were just going to pay cash & hope for a cash discount, but $18K???) Was this for braces + implants?

And thank you, EVERYONE, for the sweet compliments about DD. She is as precious inside as she is out.

This was for braces and implants and I am not sure what else, but even he said at the time he wouldn't spend that kind of money on a kid in middle school.

As for dental insurance, I maxed mine out this year because if only covers $1`500 a year. Does your job offer flexible spending accounts? That would be more workable.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Dental insurance policies have annual maximums as well as lifetime orthodontal maximums. The amounts vary by plan. I've had several dentists tell me that I have very high annual maximums and orthodontal compared to what seems to be standard. I've got $2000 lifetime on orthodontal and $2000 annual maximum on dental.

For any surgical components, the oral surgeon will submit the insurance claim as the work is performed. Just a note; oral surgury may be covered by medical insurance. DD10 just had oral surgery a few months ago to expose impacted canine teeth. The anesthetic and surgery are covered by my medical insurance.

Baby tooth extractions were covered by regular dental insurance. This went towards our annual dental maximum and was completely separate from the orthodontal coverage.

For the orthodontal, our insurance company pays half of the lifetime max up front and then the other half either at the end of year 2 or at the end of treatment, whichever comes first.

I used to work with a woman who was missing those same 2 teeth. I would never have know if she hadn't told me. When she was younger her orthodontist pulled the other teeth forward to close the gap and filed down her canine teeth so they looked like the missing teeth. It looks really natural. She's now in her 40s and this was done in her teens so this option has been around for a long time.

 

[weHEARTmickey]

This was for braces and implants and I am not sure what else, but even he said at the time he wouldn't spend that kind of money on a kid in middle school.

As for dental insurance, I maxed mine out this year because if only covers $1`500 a year. Does your job offer flexible spending accounts? That would be more workable.

Thanks! I am a SAHM & DH is self-employed. Sooooooo.....we're all on our own! We have health ins through Humana, so I think I'll call our agent now. What is a "normal" monthly premium?

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Thanks! I am a SAHM & DH is self-employed. Sooooooo.....we're all on our own! We have health ins through Humana, so I think I'll call our agent now. What is a "normal" monthly premium?

In your case, it may be very expensive.

I have no idea what normal is, for a family we pay $30 but my dh is in the military so I'm assuming it's cheaper because of that. There was no pre-existing issue for us. It has good preventative care but our yearly cap is $1200 so it goes quick!

 

[ccgirl]

I am 40 and don't have my lateral incisors. My baby teeth fell out and there were no permanent teeth to grow in their place. I never had dental insurance as a child so no orthodontics for me. I have my two upper front teeth, a little gap, two more teeth, a little gap then crowded molars. Just can't justify the money right now. I know I spoke to an orthodontist last year and I believe it was going to be $1500 per implant. The thought of drilling into the bone just skeeved me out. no thanks!

 

[ekatiel]

My mom, my sister and I are all missing the same teeth your daughter is (think it's genetic?!). We have the problem solved in three different ways. My mom has a bridge. Her fix is the most obvious-- of course she had it done 40+ years ago and back then, they couldn't match teeth color as well as they can now. My sister still has her baby teeth. They never fell out. She's 35 now. My baby teeth fell out, so I had braces and the ortho just pushed all the teeth together and shaved the canines down a bit so they look normal. No one can tell that I'm missing teeth (and I'm pretty sure I don't look funny !). Here's the most close-up pic I could find of me on photobucket-- It's from about 6 years ago when ODS was baby. DH and I look so young!! Anyhow, you can see my teeth in it.

Good luck with whatever you decide! --Katie

 

[weHEARTmickey]

In your case, it may be very expensive....

That's what I was afraid of!

My mom, my sister and I are all missing the same teeth your daughter is (think it's genetic?!). We have the problem solved in three different ways. My mom has a bridge. Her fix is the most obvious-- of course she had it done 40+ years ago and back then, they couldn't match teeth color as well as they can now. My sister still has her baby teeth. They never fell out. She's 35 now. My baby teeth fell out, so I had braces and the ortho just pushed all the teeth together and shaved the canines down a bit so they look normal. No one can tell that I'm missing teeth (and I'm pretty sure I don't look funny !). Here's the most close-up pic I could find of me on photobucket-- It's from about 6 years ago when ODS was baby. DH and I look so young!! Anyhow, you can see my teeth in it.

Good luck with whatever you decide! --Katie

WOW! Definitely genetic. Dentist said DD got it from me...I'm telling you, mine are TINY & have always been an eyesore for me. Your smile is beautiful! Thanks for easing my concerns

 

[bumbershoot]

She's adorable. I'd leave it alone. Adorable!

I'd also switch dentists; he never noticed this problem in xrays? Really?

 

[Judique]

DD10 has always had a big gap between her two front (top) teeth. The dentist has always told us it was "a good thing" so her permanent teeth will have room to grow in, without crowding. Well, after her last check-up, he tells us the x-rays show there are NO permanent teeth under her baby lateral incisors (the teeth NEXT to the front top teeth.) This is why she's always had a big gap.

So, we head to the orthodontist on 1/31 for a consultation. Dentist mentioned if ortho. decided to do implants, it could be a very tricky procedure with a child. He only recommended 2 in our entire area b/c the nerves are so much smaller in children & he wouldn't want someone to damage nerves, where DD would then lose more teeth!

When I called for appt, receptionist mentioned ortho may try to KEEP baby teeth (lateral incisors.) Has anyone ever had to deal with this? Can you describe your experience? Will it be very painful? How much should we expect to spend? (Braces will also be involved.) TIA!

We discovered this same issue in my son when he was (fortunately) younger - about 5 if I remember correctly.

The permanent tooth was missing on one side.

Our regular dentist sent my son to a dental surgeon who extracted the baby teeth on either side of the baby tooth with the missing permanent tooth. The permanent teeth grew in on both sides of the baby tooth and it stayed put. He still has it at age 26.

At age 15 he had braces put on and the orthodontist who put them on did not notice the issue until we told him about it, at which point the orthodontist took a good look at son's xrays! The baby tooth is still doing a great job and hasn't crumbled although we were advised that the root may be absorbed and that it may fall out eventually at which time son will be looking at an implant.


Youngest daughter is also missing a permanent tooth, but there are no gaps and she has straight teeth and no need for braces.

 

[scrapbookworm]

My DD is missing those two teeth. She never had them as baby teeth, and at age 10 she has all of her permanent teeth already. She got braces this summer. The ortho discussed implants vs bringing in her other teeth to close the gap. It has been decided that they will bring the other teeth around, and shave down the little point. They also don't know if she will have wisdom teeth either.

 

[weHEARTmickey]

She's adorable. I'd leave it alone. Adorable!

I'd also switch dentists; he never noticed this problem in xrays? Really?

Thank you But she's becoming self conscious, so we don't want her to hate her smile. As far as the dentist, I wondered about that! To be honest w/ you, I can't remember if he'd ever done the bite-wings before now??? She's only been going to the dentist (regularly) since she was 6 or 7. They did do them on my DS7, which leads me to believe that they've probably done them before on DD10.

 

[Goofygirl17]

My 11 year old daughter is missing the same two teeth. We recently went for an orthodontic consultation and he explained both braces/implants/bridges and moving all the teeth forward. He strongly recommended the implant/bridge route but I'm wondering if we should get a second opinion.

It was interesting to read all the posts. I didn't realize how common this problem is!

Good luck!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I'm not sure what you will end up paying for dental insurance coverage would cover much in the way of implants. Implants really are the way to go when she gets old enough, but they are the priciest option. Shop around. Ask to see photos of restorative work. There is a cost to cement the base post into the bone and the cost to fashion a tooth (or teeth) to match your child's other teeth and cement it onto the post. Start a nest egg now, if at all possible. You may not end up choosing implants, but you'll be in a better position, nonetheless.

Good luck!

(and I agree, she is absolutely adorable!)

Thank you But she's becoming self conscious, so we don't want her to hate her smile. As far as the dentist, I wondered about that! To be honest w/ you, I can't remember if he'd ever done the bite-wings before now??? She's only been going to the dentist (regularly) since she was 6 or 7. They did do them on my DS7, which leads me to believe that they've probably done them before on DD10.

 

[SILLYANDI]

A little different, but my son is missing 1 of his, and his teeth are so close together that the dentist is recommending that we do nothing about it. I think I'm going to get a second opinion.

He had it at one time. So his dentist just used braces to close the gap. I never would have noticed it if he didn't tell me.

My son has the exact same problem, and they are telling me to be thankful that I don't have to pay to pull teeth because of the over crowding lol