An impacted tooth refers to a tooth that is ‘stuck’ and fails to come through the gum correctly (erupt). The canine or eye tooth has a long eruption path to come into the mouth and can sometimes need assistance to come through correctly.
The canine teeth (known as the upper eye teeth or cuspid) are the long, pointed teeth on the top of the jaw either side of the front teeth. They are strong teeth – used for biting and play an important role in the structure of your bite arch.
The most common causes of an impacted canine tooth is crowding in the jaw, or misalignment of other teeth. This results in insufficient space for the canine tooth to come through naturally.
One of the first steps in treating an impacted canine tooth is to create more space for them to grow naturally. This is often done in collaboration with an oral surgeon and an orthodontist. In some cases treatment of impacted canines requires the extraction of teeth that are blocking the eruption of the impact canine tooth.
In a simple surgical procedure, part of the gum will be lifted up to expose the impacted canine tooth underneath. If there is a baby tooth present, it may be removed at the same time.
The surgery aims to uncover the crown of the impacted tooth so it can be pulled into place orthodontically.
Packing material is often placed during the healing period to stop the gum regrowing. If the tooth is left impacted there is a risk of resorption of the roots of the incisor teeth or cyst formation and infection.
Patients return 1-2 weeks after surgery for a review of the exposure. Usually the packing material has been lost spontaneously but any remaining material or sutures can be removed at this review appointment.