My daughters upper canines are missing

[Habib G]

Hello

My daughter is 13 years old and most of her adult teeth have come through, unfortunately her upper canines have not come through on either side.

I am worried that her canines are missing or going in the wrong direction and have taken her to see her dentist but he says that sometimes canine teeth take a while to come through.

I was surprised that he did not take any xrays and just said that they can take a while to come through. Could you please tell me what I need to do to find out if these canines are missing and if they are missing, what can be done?

If those canine teeth are stuck in her top jaw, should they be removed or can they be made to come through into her mouth? Please advise.

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Thank you for your question.

Upper Canines can be missing although this is rare or they could be impacted or erupting in a wrong path which can be common. Xrays need to be done in parallax and the canine positions assessed.

If the upper canine path of eruption is wrong, it can sometimes cause root resorption of the upper incisors and this is serious and should be treated. If the canines are impacted or erupting in the wrong path, then surgical treatment becomes necessary.

If the canines are impacted, all attempts should be made to bring them into the mouth safely as these are very important teeth from bite and aesthetic point of view.