If you or your child is missing permanent lateral incisors, please vote

[DesertBlossom]

I'm not sure if I'm doing this poll right... but I'd like some insight. DS12 does not have any permanent lateral incisors coming in. We've seen 2 orthodontists who presented both of these options and when I asked which option they recommended, they each told me something different. And I've gotten differing opinions from people who have btdt. And I'm kind of worried about making this decision because there's no redo button.

 

 

Option 1: Braces for many months to move all back teeth forward into the empty space so that his canine teeth can then be reshaped into lateral incisors. 

 

Option 2: Braces for many months to push his teeth back (because his canines are currently sliding into that empty spot), so that he can get a "flipper" or a retainer with fake teeth on it to fill the holes where his permanent teeth should be. Then, at some point in adulthood, get implants.

 

If you or your child chose one option, but wish you had done the other, please vote for what you wish you would have done or what you would recommend to others. 

 

Also, comments are welcome because obviously.  I know that making the decision should be based on the specifics of DS's mouth, but since I've gotten differing professional opinions I'm kind of at a loss. I had decided on one because of that ortho's explanation and rationale and then a friend has nearly convinced me to do the other.  :)

Edited December 26, 2017 by DesertBlossom

[Deb in NZ]

Ds#2 is missing those teeth.  We've chosen after discussing it with him to just leave things as they are as he has no trouble with his teeth.

 

 

[DesertBlossom]

Ds#2 is missing those teeth.  We've chosen after discussing it with him to just leave things as they are as he has no trouble with his teeth.

 

Curious. Does he have a gap in his teeth then?

[Laura Corin]

I didn't vote. I was missing one and nothing was done. The other teeth moved over naturally to fill the gap.

[maize]

If this were one of my children I would be inclined to bring the canines forward--because my kids tend to have small jaws and crowded teeth so it would make more sense to make do with fewer.

 

No BTDT though. We've dealt with the opposite issue of an extra permanent tooth growing in behind the front incisors.

[Ailaena]

 

We moved dd’s teeth forward to fill the space. We ended up doing this because it seemed likely that her teeth would be crowded because she was small. She ended up being NOT small but pushing the teeth forward made no difference.

 

Had we left the baby teeth in or moved backwards, she’d be pretty screwed since neither of us have dental insurance to pay for implants and she’s already 22. I feel like if that’s your route, it would be nice to set some money aside for your kid instead of being like, “hey, we made this expensive financial decision for you! Have fun! :Dâ€

 

I also feel (perhaps irrationally) that implants or a bridge offer one more thing to go wrong in your mouth, so sticking with all natural teeth would be better.

[DesertBlossom]

We moved dd’s teeth forward to fill the space. We ended up doing this because it seemed likely that her teeth would be crowded because she was small. She ended up being NOT small but pushing the teeth forward made no difference.

 

Had we left the baby teeth in or moved backwards, she’d be pretty screwed since neither of us have dental insurance to pay for implants and she’s already 22. I feel like if that’s your route, it would be nice to set some money aside for your kid instead of being like, “hey, we made this expensive financial decision for you! Have fun! :Dâ€

 

I also feel (perhaps irrationally) that implants or a bridge offer one more thing to go wrong in your mouth, so sticking with all natural teeth would be better.

Yeah, the cost of implants is definitely something to consider and we've talked that over with DS. His baby teeth have already fallen out so we are hoping to make a decision in the next couple months. His permanent canines are almost in.

[Sandwalker]

My laterals were impacted up near my sinuses, so I had horrible surgeries (1970s) and braces for 4 years to bring down the teeth. They didn't last and I got a bridge in 1982.

[JonesinIndiana]

I HAVEN’T VOTED OR LOOKED AT THE RESULTS

I am a hygienist and I’m missing my LOWER lateral incisors. Due to my profile, I opted to make spaces, there was no space where the missing teeth were. (My bite was Class 2 division 2, deep overjet.) I had braces as an adult. After the braces I wore my lower retainer with 2 teeth on it until I worked in an office I wanted to do the permanent work. I had 2 Maryland bridges done. I don’t think they are as common today but mine are 25+ years and still going strong. I am not a candidate for implants due to not enough bone.

 

My questions for you are:

 

Is your son missing upper or lower lateral incisors?

What does his profile look like? Does he need a fuller smile or can he just make do with missing the incisors and making the cuspids look like laterals?

Why is 1 orthodontist recommending spaces and implants?

 

I have seen successful ortho cases using the cuspids as laterals. (*I think* Michael Jordan is missing an upper lateral incisor and he has a cuspid in its place.)

I’ve also seen spaces made and bridge work placed. The singer Shania Twain has *I think* missing upper lateral incisors and very nice bridgework done.

 

It’s much easier to use the cuspids rather than do bridges or implants. It’s all done when the ortho is done, except for the slight shaping done to make the cuspid look more like an incisor.

 

HTH

I’ll go look at the voting results now. 😉

[bethben]

My dd is missing those teeth due to cleft lip/palate. The orthodontist is moving the canines forward to fill the gap mostly because she doesn’t have room for those teeth anyway. I’m happy with it as we don’t have to wait years and years plus expense to have implants. So far, they don’t look funny even without reshaping them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bzymom]

My son is 27, is missing one adult lateral incisor (and never had wisdom teeth).  We were never offered any of these options, and were told to take good care of the baby tooth and plan for an implant once it fell out.

 

He still has the baby tooth, and will need the implant whenever it does fall out.  Had we had the option, I would likely have chosen to attempt moving his other teeth to fill the gap.  

[MaeFlowers]

We're not there yet, but the dentist recommended moving dd's tooth forward and reshaping (she is only missing one.) She also does not have a gap. In fact, noone has ever noticed it and the dental assistant didn't notice until I pointed it out.

 

I wouldn't choose the spacers/implant option. I agree with a previous poster that natural teeth would be better. Implants are expensive and may have to be replaced.

[DesertBlossom]

I HAVEN’T VOTED OR LOOKED AT THE RESULTS

I am a hygienist and I’m missing my LOWER lateral incisors. Due to my profile, I opted to make spaces, there was no space where the missing teeth were. (My bite was Class 2 division 2, deep overjet.) I had braces as an adult. After the braces I wore my lower retainer with 2 teeth on it until I worked in an office I wanted to do the permanent work. I had 2 Maryland bridges done. I don’t think they are as common today but mine are 25+ years and still going strong. I am not a candidate for implants due to not enough bone.

 

My questions for you are:

 

Is your son missing upper or lower lateral incisors?

What does his profile look like? Does he need a fuller smile or can he just make do with missing the incisors and making the cuspids look like laterals?

Why is 1 orthodontist recommending spaces and implants?

 

I have seen successful ortho cases using the cuspids as laterals. (*I think* Michael Jordan is missing an upper lateral incisor and he has a cuspid in its place.)

I’ve also seen spaces made and bridge work placed. The singer Shania Twain has *I think* missing upper lateral incisors and very nice bridgework done.

 

It’s much easier to use the cuspids rather than do bridges or implants. It’s all done when the ortho is done, except for the slight shaping done to make the cuspid look more like an incisor.

 

HTH

I’ll go look at the voting results now. 😉

Great questions! It's his upper lateral incisors that he is missing. Besides that, his teeth and bite are pretty good. I don't think he would need braces if it weren't for the missing teeth.

 

The one orthodontist suggested future implants because moving his teeth forward might affect his bite because different teeth line up. The 2nd orthodontist suggested reshaping the canines because it was a "one and done" thing without having to worry about expensive implants later on. She also said it was less time in braces to do that, and less time in braces, from a hygeine perspective, was always better.

[luuknam]

No BTDT, so didn't vote. 

 

and less time in braces, from a hygeine perspective, was always better.

 

 

Yes, but reshaping existing teeth basically means filing off some of the enamel, doesn't it? Which is not good. I'd lean towards doing nothing, or braces to move the teeth forward (but not reshaping). Of course, like I mentioned, no BTDT. We also have small mouths where pushing back would be a bad idea. 

Edited December 27, 2017 by luuknam

[DesertBlossom]

No BTDT, so didn't vote.

 

 

 

Yes, but reshaping existing teeth basically means filing off some of the enamel, doesn't it? Which is not good. I'd lean towards doing nothing, or braces to move the teeth forward (but not reshaping). Of course, like I mentioned, no BTDT. We also have small mouths where pushing back would be a bad idea.

Yes. But the concern is that his normal canines may look odd in that place, especially if the canines are very canine-y. His are still coming in so I don't know yet.

[DesertBlossom]

Xrays showed he has upper wisdom teeth (but no lower) so I would think that if the teeth were moved forward he'd also have plenty of space for those wisdom teeth to stay.

[Forget-Me-Not]

My oldest is missing his upper adult laterals. The ortho said his canines were the wrong shape to reshape so he’s got spacers on his braces. When he gets them off he’ll have a fixed retainer until he can get implants in his early twenties.

[luuknam]

Yes. But the concern is that his normal canines may look odd in that place, especially if the canines are very canine-y. His are still coming in so I don't know yet.

 

 

Maybe, maybe not too bad... I don't care about teeth being *perfect* (obviously, if they're hideous, fix it if you can afford to... I just think that people often fix stuff that would've been fine... e.g., when I was 12 my dentist suggested braces for me... I didn't get them, and people are often surprised that they were recommended to me, because they think my teeth look fine - one of my bottom teeth is slightly crooked, but not real noticeable, and I've got a bit of an overbite, but again not noticeable to most people). Anyway, esthetics are personal, and, like you said, too soon to know how it'd look anyway. My point was that when you file away enamel, you're leaving less enamel... and therefore increasing the odds of cavities. So, I'd try to remove as little as possible, possibly nothing if you can get away with not reshaping them. I'd be even more hesitant about dealing with implants etc though.

[Alte Veste Academy]

DS14 has missing lateral incisors. We opted for moving his canines back. He now has two Maryland bridges in place, which look amazing. If necessary, he will get implants later, which DH and I will pay for. However, we are lucky to have excellent dental insurance, which paid a good deal for the braces and bridges and will cover the implants later. 

 

ETA: Along the lines of what luuknam is saying... Yes, we didn't want to file down perfectly healthy canines. He had ONE set of good teeth (the canines) when he should have had two (the canines and lateral incisors). I didn't want to mess with those teeth that were perfect already. 

Edited December 27, 2017 by Alte Veste Academy

[Alte Veste Academy]

And I'm going to post again to say we chose against the flipper for DS because it's a retainer that must be removed before he eats. And I thought poor kid, to be on a date one day and have to remove his teeth to eat...no. LOL

[DesertBlossom]

Maybe, maybe not too bad... I don't care about teeth being *perfect* (obviously, if they're hideous, fix it if you can afford to... I just think that people often fix stuff that would've been fine... e.g., when I was 12 my dentist suggested braces for me... I didn't get them, and people are often surprised that they were recommended to me, because they think my teeth look fine - one of my bottom teeth is slightly crooked, but not real noticeable, and I've got a bit of an overbite, but again not noticeable to most people). Anyway, esthetics are personal, and, like you said, too soon to know how it'd look anyway. My point was that when you file away enamel, you're leaving less enamel... and therefore increasing the odds of cavities. So, I'd try to remove as little as possible, possibly nothing if you can get away with not reshaping them. I'd be even more hesitant about dealing with implants etc though.

I am not a perfectionist about teeth either. No one in my family had braces and our teeth are all straight enough. DH has some crowding in his bottom teeth but not enough for him to care enough to fix. I guess I assumed that doing nothing, and leaving spaces, might cause issues that he wouldn't otherwise have.

 

The 2nd ortho did mention that reshaping the teeth could make them a noticeably different color, but she wasn't put off by that enough not to still recommend the 2nd option.

Edited December 27, 2017 by DesertBlossom

[DesertBlossom]

And I'm going to post again to say we chose against the flipper for DS because it's a retainer that must be removed before he eats. And I thought poor kid, to be on a date one day and have to remove his teeth to eat...no. LOL

A friend says she eats with hers in and is just careful about what she eats. She is about 30 and just now getting implants.

 

I hate having to make this decision. Ugh. Thabkfully DS is old enough to give an opinion except I don't know that he care enough one way or another. At least if he has input he can't hate us later for what he chose, right?

Edited December 27, 2017 by DesertBlossom

[Ellie]

We did #1. To even out top and bottom, two bottom teeth were removed. Best money we ever spent. I would not want to have my child have to deal with an appliance for the rest of her life if braces would do the job, KWIM?

[luuknam]

At least if he has input he can't hate us later for what he chose, right?

 

 

Of course he can. But, that'd be a poor choice of his - it's not like you asked him at 4yo if he wanted the polio vaccine, he said no, got polio, and is unable to walk for the rest of his life or something. 12yo, pros/cons for both options, not life-changing either way... if he hates you for the decision you let him make, that'd be his problem. 

[Alte Veste Academy]

A friend says she eats with hers in and is just careful about what she eats. She is about 30 and just now getting implants.

 

I hate having to make this decision. Ugh. Thabkfully DS is old enough to give an opinion except I don't know that he care enough one way or another. At least if he has input he can't hate us later for what he chose, right?

We were told he would have to remove it, but even if he could leave it in, I would not want a tween/teen boy to have to be think so hard and be careful about his eating, you know?

 

It is a tough decision for sure. There is no perfect decision. We are happy with what we did (and DS definitely enjoys the freedom to eat whatever he wants now), but probably either way is a fine decision. Just a different decision.

Edited December 27, 2017 by Alte Veste Academy

[Alte Veste Academy]

By the way, we saw two orthodontists and both recommended the bridge/implant solution.

[Matryoshka]

It depends.

 

I was missing one lateral incisor.  Most dentists were recommending that I have my other one pulled (it was a small peg tooth) and have my canines pulled in and shaved.

BUT... I was missing 8 other teeth.  Taking out one more and pulling everything forward would have left me nothing much left to chew with.  Also, I have very large, pointy canines.  Would have looked like a vampire.  So they moved them apart and I got a bridge (as this was many years pre-implants).  Other peg lateral got bonding to make it normal size. It was the right decision.

 

My dd, on the other hand, is missing both laterals, but no other teeth except her wisdom teeth.  AND her canines were much less pointy.  We moved her teeth together and shaved the canines.  Also the right decision.

Edited December 27, 2017 by Matryoshka

[mamakelly]

Two of my kids are missing 1 upper lateral incisor, (ironically, it’s the same one). My 16 year old still has her baby tooth. Eventually she will get an implant. We are saving our quarters, lol.

 

My 18 year old is also missing a lateral incisor. However he was born with a cleft palate and has a whole host of cleft related dental issues. His baby tooth fell out, so he’ll need an implant for that tooth, (and a few others). So our insurance will pay for his

[YaelAldrich]

I was missing all lateral incisors. The orthodontist moved my canines over and shaved my canines. I have no troubles with them. My oldest has peg laterals. The first orthodontist tried to align them so they would hold space for eventual bonding. Even with him following all the protocols, it didn't hold. He's back in braces (4K more!!) And the new orthodontist (we moved) is expecting to bond soon after he's done.

[YaelAldrich]

I was missing all lateral incisors. The orthodontist moved my canines over and shaved my canines. I have no troubles with them. My oldest has peg laterals. The first orthodontist tried to align them so they would hold space for eventual bonding. Even with him following all the protocols, it didn't hold. He's back in braces (4K more!!) And the new orthodontist (we moved) is expecting to bond soon after he's done.