Impacted Canines

The canine teeth are the first teeth that meet when the jaws close. They help to guide the remaining teeth into the proper bite. After wisdom teeth, the upper canines are the second most common teeth to become impacted.

When teeth do not have enough room to erupt in their normal position, they become impacted or crowded, and force adjacent teeth to move out of alignment.  When any tooth lacks the space to come through or simply develops in the wrong place of your jaw and becomes impacted, problems can arise, such as:

  • damage to adjacent teeth
  • crowding or spacing of teeth, leading to an improper bite pattern
  • early wear of the teeth
  • obstruction of the sinus cavity

Impacted canine teeth must be surgically exposed to help them erupt. During a surgical procedure, we can remove some of the gum tissue and bone covering the tooth, to expose the tooth.