Worried about my DS's teeth

[dejags]

Hi everybody

I am a bit concerned about my DS's teeth and was wondering if any of you had experienced something similar.

Basically there isn't enough space in his mouth for the two teeth which normally come out next to the front teeth. His canines (pointy teeth) are quite big and fill up the space next to his front teeth.

We have taken him to the dentist who tells us that it is not very uncommon for a child not to get all his milk teeth but cannot give us any idea of what is going to happen when his big teeth come out.

I am worried on two fronts: 1) that he will be teased at school 2) that this will mean an abnormality in the way his big teeth emerge.

Any re-assurance would be gratefully received.
Thanks

dejags, my DS2's teeth are just the same and his front ones are in 2 rows, like a shark's! These are his second teeth, not his milk teeth, by the way, but I assume the same will happen with your DS - has the dentist X-rayed him to see if they are there, and if so exactly where they are? This might show the early development of his second teeth too, I'm not sure exactly when they start - jasper?

DS2's teeth just look normally gappy from the front, nobody has ever noticed that he should have 4 teeth showing there instead of 2, so I shouldn't worry too much about that aspect of it, but they do need careful cleaning.

Anyway he has already started having orthodontic treatment, all of my children have large teeth and small jaws so they have all been through the system, partly because of this the orthodontist saw him sooner than she probably would have otherwise, just because he was there with his brother. He has had a removable appliance in the top of his mouth for months, designed to widen the arch and make more space, it came with a key and he had to turn it twice a week to make the thing slightly wider.

Now it is wide enough and he only has to wear it at night, and is about to have his upper canine and premolar milk teeth removed to make space for rearrangement. (He is 10 now btw.)

HTH!

Dejags, how old is your dear son?
Does he have missing teeth in both upper and lower arches , os just in one?
Do either you or his dad have missing adult equivalent teeth?
It may take me a couple of days to reply again as I am shortly to be offline for a wee while.