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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to be utterly panic stricken over DD lack of teeth! Dentist related

74 replies

MrsTatum1980 · 05/04/2016 10:59

I'll keep it simple and short but desperately hoping someone has had an experience of this!

Just took 8 year old DD to a routine dentist appointment. They did an X-ray as she has only lost 2 baby teeth (front top) and these have been replaced by adult teeth. The X-ray basically showed...she has no fucking teeth!!! Once her baby ones fall out then there are none there to replace them! I lie, she has 3 random teeth waiting in the wings! I'm not exaggerating, I'm devastated! (I know this word is unpopular around these parts but keep imagine my beautiful daughter as a teenager with no bastard teeth!)

Has anyone experienced this? What treatments are available? Will she have to wait until 18? How long can baby teeth last? Any help or advice will be much appreciated especially as our hospital referral though urgent may take several months apparently!

OP posts:

Tuiles · 05/04/2016 11:03

That sounds really distressing and I hope you get the answers soon. I have no expert advice, but I do have 2 baby teeth going strong and I'm over 40. If that's in any way reassuring?

HPsauciness · 05/04/2016 11:04

Find out who your dd is being referred to (consultant name) and then see if you can pay privately for an initial consultation. This may cost £100-250, I've done it twice, you can then be put back through the NHS system for treatment. If you phone their secretary, they are usually very helpful in arranging this.

I wouldn't wait months, given the teeth could fall in that time. Having said that, I think some people just keep their baby teeth their whole adult lives, so I'm not sure they actually fall if there is nothing to replace them.

grannytomine · 05/04/2016 11:04

This happened to a friend of my sister's. I can't remember all the details but I have a feeling she had crowns or implants? She definitely wasn't left without teeth as although I didn't know her well I would have noticed and I didn't know until my sister was talking about it one day.

Didn't the dentist say anything, is she being referred to dental hospital or anything?

HPsauciness · 05/04/2016 11:05

So, instead of waiting months, you get to see them in their next private slot, which is usually a week or two away and not months away.

Not great to have to go private, but better than sitting waiting anxiously, if you can afford the amount.

grannytomine · 05/04/2016 11:06

Just to add my sister's friend had no adult teeth, it was a family thing apparently as all her siblings were affected to some degree.

Try not to panic there will be a solution. My daughter had years of orthodontics and jaw surgery and when I look at her smile now I just wish I had known it would all be OK.

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 05/04/2016 11:10

My understanding is that a baby teeth won't fall out until an adult tooth pushes it out. This happened to me - I had very squint adult teeth and retained a baby tooth (top left canine) until I was 23, when the adult tooth finally worked its way down. My dentist thought I would need a special chain on it to pull the adult tooth down but in the time it took for me to be referred to the dental hospital, the tooth grew in and is actually pretty straight.

I can see why you are so worried, though - I would be panicking too! I do think her baby teeth won't just fall out, especially not while she's a teenager and still young, but I would need to know what the long-term prognosis is and what they can do about it. I wonder how unusual this is? Did the dentist give you any indication?

PipersOrange · 05/04/2016 11:11

My friend still has half (around ten) of her baby teeth. Her dentist said it was absolutely fine and she's 25 now with no problems (except slightly smaller teeth)

MyLifeisaboxofwormgears · 05/04/2016 11:12

My SIL has no adult teeth - it's rare but she kept all her baby teeth and still has them age 60.
My DD is also missing adult teeth in her gums.

You can google this condition - my dentist had to when we were in the surgery as he'd not come across it before.

Ejkr3 · 05/04/2016 11:13

My niece (20) has only a few adult teeth, her baby teeth are still there, they won't come out if there's nothing to push them out.
What colour hair does she have? My niece is a red head, apparently it's quite common for them.

BlueMoonRising · 05/04/2016 11:13

I'm surprised the dentist didn't give you more information.

As far as I'm aware, the baby teeth won't fall out without adult teeth to push them out, so don't panic.

There was a man locally that had all his baby teeth, I met him when he was about 40. His baby teeth looked odd, but they were all still intact. I'm sure though that they will be able to do cosmetic work to make them look better, or maybe implants further down the line.

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 05/04/2016 11:16

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodontia Wikipedia has this article about it.

TheWildRumpyPumpus · 05/04/2016 11:18

I've never heard of this before - DS2 is always asking why he's not lost any teeth yet when everyone else in his Y1 class has lost more than 1.

Sounds like it's not unheard of OP - hopefully you can get more information from your dentist.

Lindor · 05/04/2016 11:20

DH. 50, still has some baby teeth. DD, 18 has inherited this and is similar to your daughter, but possibly has a few more teeth, although the ones she has are oddly shaped and not necessarily in the right place in her mouth . Her treatment has been planned (after a long discussion involving various consultants) by the Eastman Dental Hospital in London (NHS, part of University College Hospital London group).

She will eventually have some implants to fill the gaps and to help her bite/chew.
I would push for a referral to the Eastman (Or similar hospital in your area - it's a 200 mile round trip for us). They have the wide experience of this conditions which many local orthodontists don't.

Good luck. It will be alright in the end x

Original poster

MrsTatum1980 · 05/04/2016 11:25

I'm kicking myself now as didn't ask any useful questions at the dentist as my DD was there and I didn't want to worry her plus I think I hadn't appreciated the severity. Now I'm all 'shit, she's going to have no teeth!' And obviously I've done the worst possible thing and googled!

All the dentist said was that she was doing an urgent referral to the paediatric specialist at our local hospital (reasonably large city) I ask about waiting times and she said some appts were up to a year but she'd put this through as urgent as it was quite rare! But A YEAR! How do I find out who we've been referred to as I would be happy to pay for a private consultation, would this affect NHS treatment though? Especially as I've looked at the prices of implants as they were mentioned and cried again!

Also, the pain aspect? All the treatments look very painful especially the implants. I know this sounds ridiculous but how painful are we talking? As she has a full set of baby teeth now will her jaw/bones form correctly or are we looking at surgery there as well?

Thank you so much for the reassuring replies. I'm currently in that frantic, flapping mother state whereas DD is excited about looking like something from TOWIE and thinking she'll have magic teeth she never has to clean!

OP posts:

Original poster

MrsTatum1980 · 05/04/2016 11:30

Just to answer some questions she has blonde hair and we only had the X-ray as I mentioned we had only lost two teeth which I thought was unusual.

It's reassuring that without adult teeth to push them out that she may keep her baby teeth. Though these are very small so from a vanity point of view, concerns me. The X-ray showed that she has no adult top teeth (other than the two top middle front ones which have already come through thank God!)

She currently has two tiny bottom middle teeth that are slightly wobbly (and were at last check up) There are no adult teeth under these. The X-ray showed 3 other teeth at the bottom waiting to come through but that was it.

Dentist had never seen it before so really didn't say much at all and in hindsight, I'd have asked so many more questions. It's so frustrating that I'm in total limbo now. Is it worth making another dentist appt to discuss it?

OP posts:

PresidentCJCregg · 05/04/2016 11:30

My friend still has her baby teeth at 27. It was the case with her that her baby teeth never fell out as there were no adult teeth moving into their space.

She obviously has to look after them very well, but apart from that she has had no issues so far.

dementedpixie · 05/04/2016 11:33

My sister has a few baby teeth still and is nearly 40

PinguForPresident · 05/04/2016 11:33

Some of my adult teeth went astray and I had to have surgery when I was to remove them as they were never going to come down in the right place. They left the baby teeth in situ and told me they'd last about 10 years. They actually lasted til last year when I was 40! And they only broke because I was stupid and was chewing a pen!

Original poster

MrsTatum1980 · 05/04/2016 11:33

Phew it appears that there are other people with no adult teeth then. Our cleaning programme is stepping up a gear from today as she is a bugger for not cleaning them! I am feeling slightly better that it seems without adult teeth, she's less likely to lose her teeth.

OP posts:

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 05/04/2016 11:35

I would ring the dentist and ask for more information, particularly about the referral to the specialist. Ask for a number/name there so you can chase them yourself. Or going privately might be good - as I understand it, with many private systems, you can start off private and go back into the NHS system for expensive treatments.

AnneOfCleavage · 05/04/2016 11:38

I know this may sound woo but a friends DD had that exact same thing and was told after an xray that she had no adult teeth on her top row. A year or so later went back for another xray and the xray showed they were there so where they had been hiding was anyone's guess so don't panic as yet and get a 2nd opinion. In this case waiting a while was preferable as they eventually turned up

Now the woo part: friend claimed it was because she had prayed that they'd turned up after all

Lindor · 05/04/2016 11:41

Re implants, when DD was first diagnosed we were told they wouldn't do implants until 17 at the earliest as they have to have finished growing. So I wouldn't worry about the referral wait time, as once you see the consultant, apart from planning ahead, it will probably be a long wait for actual treatment.

DD is currently having brace work to move the teeth she does have to make appropriate gaps for the implants. We were told that as the treatment has started while she's a child the NHS will pay for the implants ( with the caveat that they may change the rules at any time).

Before she started secondary school we paid for braces at the top and for her top front teeth to be built up/ shaped so they looked normal, as they were very small and pointy. Luckily her lower teeth, which are worse don't really show.

Not looking forward to having the implants done. DD is a fainter for the least of things.

Gungdjur · 05/04/2016 11:45

Like other posters I still have two baby teeth going strong at 35 - I would have four but had two removed on the bottom and the gaps closed. Mine missing teeth are symmetrically placed, one of my cousins had to have braces as hers weren't.
I would be concerned if there really are no teeth to replace the wobbly ones. I think I would go private ASAP to be honest. Implants cost a lot but she might not need them for ages if she can keep her baby teeth.
The two baby teeth I have are next to my eye teeth and it's really not noticeable. I think the twelve front teeth are most worth investing in.

Gungdjur · 05/04/2016 11:46

Just make sure if the bottom teeth fall out that she gets some kind of bridge or something so the other teeth don't move to fill the gap.

iwantavuvezela · 05/04/2016 11:47

OP i am imagine how worried you are. My DD has teeth issues (not missing teeth, but missing enamel which has resulted in a fair bit of dental work). We were referred to our local hospital which has a dental paediatric unit and the care has been great.

However i needed more information, like you, and when i first was told of the extent of work, (extractions, fillings etc) i also hardly asked any questions as my dd was with me and didn't want to worry her. I booked a private consultation with a dentist in Harley street (i just googled, phoned and asked if they had information about the condition), went and saw them and used the consultation to talk through the options, ask questions etc. The dentist told me that the hospital i was at was the best place to be. It cost be £100 for the consolation but it was worth the peace of mind and didn't affect us staying with the NHS hospital.

I would try and push for the earliest consultation, and also look at going for one private consultation just so that you feel more informed about the options etc. I am sorry this is so worrying for you, but the experts will have the answers and i am sure will give you a plan of action. Once i had the information, course of action i felt much better about everything. I also found that once you in the system for your referral you will be able to make subsequent appointments quite easily.

Good luck and thinking of you.

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