Missing lateral incisors?

[3boys4me]

I just recently found out that my DS 12 does not have adult lateral incisors. He still has his baby teeth there, but the adult ones are not there. Has anyone gone through this? I am so overwhelmed with this new info. TIA

 

[LoveMyBoys]

It happened to me, it was only one of my incisors. But I didn't find out until I was 24, I had to have it pulled and an implant put in. I would see what his dentist recommends and go from there. My cousin's son has the same problem and they found out last year when he was 11, I'm not sure what they decided to do. Their dentist said that it sometimes runs in families and she called me and said that it was my fault.
Good luck, it seems to be more common than one might think.

 

[Michelle and crew]

Lol, my youngest is the same. My dentist said not to sweat it. His oldest daughter is the same. His suggestion is to wait and see how everything plays out.

 

[3boys4me]

I guess this is a little more common than I thought. Thanks for the replies.

It happened to me, it was only one of my incisors. But I didn't find out until I was 24, I had to have it pulled and an implant put in. I would see what his dentist recommends and go from there. My cousin's son has the same problem and they found out last year when he was 11, I'm not sure what they decided to do. Their dentist said that it sometimes runs in families and she called me and said that it was my fault.
Good luck, it seems to be more common than one might think.

Did you stil have your baby incisor at 24?

 

[Gigi22]

DH still has about 12 of his baby teeth, at the age of 56! It is due to a genetic defect in his family--about 1/2 of them didn't get all their adult teeth. Even the siblings who have normal teeth can pass the gene on to the next generation. It can be expensive to fix, to get implants for all of DH's missing teeth would cost the same as a new car.

 

[powellrj]

My DS still has 4 of his baby teeth and he is 19. We went to the orthodontist when he was younger and he told us since he had an almost perfect bite, he wouldn't fix them. He said that when they do fix the problem, its usually because there is another problem that needs taken care of and they will fix it then.

The price he quoted was almost $20,000 to fix them! We said we would just wait!

 

[3boys4me]

The price he quoted was almost $20,000 to fix them! We said we would just wait!

 

[LoveMyBoys]

yes, I still had the baby one at 24. My dentist convinced me to have it pulled, because it was a little loose.

 

[PHXscuba]

If you're going to be missing teeth, these are the most common ones. So you're not alone.

My DD11 has this same problem -- she has no lateral on one side and a "peg lateral" on the other (a tiny tooth). Implants are the most common way to fix it, but you have to wait until your son is done growing (16-18?) The other thing they can do is to move the canines over and reshape them to look like incisors (called lateralizing the canines). It's less common but sometimes helpful in a very small mouth.

The good news is that with no permanent teeth pushing them out, the baby ones usually stay in, so you have some time to decide what you want to do. Get an orthodontist's opinion or maybe two and don't rush into treatment.

And yes, it will probably be expensive. But don't someone talk you into a cheap fix like a partial or a bridge -- not a good long-term plan.

PHXscuba

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

Add me to the list of those missing an incisor. I'm just missing one and the other teeth grew straight together and didn't leave a space, so it's not noticable unless I point it out. My new dentist even assumed that I had gotten braces as a child because my teeth are straight.

I thought my son was going to be missing both incisors because his baby teeth came out and nothing grew in it's place for over a year. Thankfully, when the dentist did an x-ray the teeth were there. He did mention that it was very common and frequently ran in families.

 

[kat08]

Yep, me too. *raises hand* I have one missing lateral incisor and a peg incisor on the other side. It's not teeny but smaller than the average lateral incisor. I have a "temporary denture" or "flipper" to fill in that space. I'm 36 and have had one since I was 15-ish. They do break fairly easily so it is not an ideal fix. If you can help him get implants once he is finished growing, that would be an ideal fix. I want to get an implant but it's pretty durned expensive.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

My son's in the club, too. We had similar options: braces to shift the teeth now (he was 10 or 11 when we were given the option) or wait and do implants. If we did it now, we'd probably have to re-do something anyway when he finished growing. We were told if he could stand waiting (if he didn't feel self-conscious about his teeth) that was the best option. YMMV.

 

[CanadianPaco]

Add DD to the list. Our dentsist is worried her teeth are shifting so an implant and or braces seem to be in her future...

 

[3boys4me]

Wow, we certainly aren't alone in this. I think we will try to get to an orthdontist next week and see what we are looking at. Thanks so much for all of the replies, it was alot of help.

 

[amyren]

I'm missing 5 permanent teeth! I'm 30 and still have 4 baby premolars. I was missing a permanent lateral incisor as well but when the baby tooth became loose my dentist replaced it with a cantilevered bridge. At the time (er... 15 years ago) dental implants weren't as popular. My current dentist is amazed that I've managed to keep the bridge for so long. It looks really natural and has never given me any problems. The only negative is I can't whiten my teeth. So far I haven't had problems with any of the other baby teeth, they were fine when I had braces as a teen. My dentist says he's seen elderly people with baby teeth. As long as they stay cavity free they should stay put for several more years. I sure hope so because I don't want to dish out money for implants I wouldn't stress to hard about treatment unless the teeth become loose or present problems. Oh, one possible positive for you. I never developed wisdom teeth and therefore never had to have them removed. Maybe your DS will have the same luck.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

It's genetic on my side of the family. I have two baby molars in my mouth and never produced my last 8 molars in my mouth. DD is missing her bottom two front teeth and 3 molars in the back. DS is missing a the tooth in front of his canine and at this point a molar in the back.

DD's two front baby teeth were just pulled this year. She was born with them and they were down to roots. They were never full teeth. She has a retainer right now with the two teeth built in. She has the option of getting implants or a bridge when she gets older. We are hoping that she has dental insurance, since we do not. The dentist said not to push it at this point. She is 18. DS's other tooth (caninie) has pushed over to the area where the canine should be. The dentist is hoping for a wisdom tooth to be implanted in that spot and they will grind down the canine.

To make matters worse, when my father was in his late 50's two of his permanent teeth appeared out of no where. Bad part was they came through the roof of his mouth!

Both of my children's teeth and mouth's have been x'rayed for Dental journals and teaching material.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Count me in the club too. I'm missing one of my molars, I still have the baby tooth (at 41) and every time I've gone to a new dentist, if they suggest pulling it and doing either a bridge or an implant, I run in the other direction. It's cavity free, isn't loose and is just fine, for incisors, it may be a different issue, but unless they're rotting, or affecting his bite, or asthetically he wants to get it fixed and you can afford it, don't let a dentist talk you into it!

 

[krcit]

Count me in the club too. I'm missing one of my molars, I still have the baby tooth (at 41) and every time I've gone to a new dentist, if they suggest pulling it and doing either a bridge or an implant, I run in the other direction. It's cavity free, isn't loose and is just fine, for incisors, it may be a different issue, but unless they're rotting, or affecting his bite, or asthetically he wants to get it fixed and you can afford it, don't let a dentist talk you into it!

I still have 2 baby teeth and am missing a tooth. The baby teeth are fine and I have bonding on my front canine to fill in the space.

 

[Suellen]

36 here and I still have baby teeth too. Well tooth. I am missing one incisor and then have the baby tooth on the other side. No big deal as far as I am concerned (for me)

 

[KarenW]

Count me in. I am missing one incisor and had a peg on the other side. When I got braces they pulled the peg and moved my canines over and filed them to look like incisors. No one can tell unless I tell them.