Expert: Steven C. Scherr, D.D.S. - 9/18/2007

Question
Hi, my wife and I just got back from taking our children to the dentist/orthodontist, and are quite alarmed by the x-ray of our 17 year old son's teeth.  We had been going to a different dentist but decided to change when we could afford braces for our children.  Anyway, the dental x-rays taken of our son's mouth show one of his permanent teeth being blocked by a baby tooth.  Because of this , the permanent tooth is still down below the baby tooth, and one of the roots of the permanent tooth is down and very close to the jawbone.  It appears that the permanent tooth is growing down towards the jawbone, since it can't go up into the mouth.  Is this common?  In this type of situation, does the tooth root attach itself to the jawbone, or does it grow though it?  Our son says he doesn't feel any pain or discomfort.  And because of crowding, the baby tooth (the one in the way) can't go anywhere.  And it looks to have a good root itself.  The orthodontist we consulted said that we need to widen our son's mouth(very narrow) and then get the baby tooth out.  Afterwhich, they mentioned putting a 'Loop" around the permanent tooth down in the jaw and try to draw it up into place(over time).  We have never heard of anything like this and don't know what to do?

Answer
Jim,

This is actually a common situation.  I have never heard of the permanent tooth root growing through the bone plate.  Over many years, there is the potential for the root to become fused to the bone if left untreated.

The plan of treatment described makes sense.  This is a very predictable approach and typically has a good prognosis.

Best wishes to your family.

Steve