Hypodontia

[rainydogday]

Hi, my 12 DD has hypodontia and does not have her incisors. (Teeth either side of big front teeth). We have the option of using braces to create a space so then she can have a permanent bridge or implants when older. My worry with this is she will have a period of time with big gaps and the cost of ongoing dental care ie implants when she is an adult. The other option is to close the gap. She will have her cainine teeth either side of front top big teeth. They can then shape them to look less pointy. She may have to have two removed from the bottom to match up. Such a big decision to make! Anyone have any experience of this? Or have it themselves? X

DD has similar. Bottom set perfect but one of the upper canines was impacted. She only has one lateral incisor but the baby tooth is still there (DD is 17) and the other one is an adult one but is a bit of a peg.

We were given various options. From hauling teeth into gaps which would have involved doing the same to the bottom set to recovering the canine, keeping the compromised incisors in place, leaving the bottom set alone and preparing for implants at some point in the future when required.

As DD is a serious clarinet player, we were advised to try and avoid work on the bottom set if at all possible. So we went with the second option. DD had a fixed brace on the top set for about 9 months until the canine was in the right place and now wears a retainer to maintain the gaps in anticipation of implants. At present the two incisors are still holding on.

We were advised that if they came out while the brace was on then they could be used to make a bridge.

If DD wasn't so serious about her music I still don't know if I'd go down the hauling around route. This would have involved the bicuspids being shaped into canines and the canines being shaped into incisors. Our own dentist advised against that. His view was that for girls the shape of a smile is important with the canines at the corners. I can sort of understand that as my niece had that done and her mouth now looks very narrow and almost ratty at the front.

Just my view but what we had done has worked out for DD. We also didn't want to take extra teeth out at the bottom as she has missing adult teeth there too!

Thanks for reply. It's such a massive decision! Our own dentist (not the orthodontist) said she 'could' have a narrow arch/smile. Having said that she is very thin & narrow all over! They said when she was little she may need teeth removed as such a narrow mouth. Because she doesn't have the incisors at all she will need a bridge then implant. I just worry if she has to fork out the 'up keep' when older. Also will a bridge damage adjoining teeth if needs replacing down the line. I like the sounds of pushing them together and shaping the teeth and taking two out at the bottom (which is over crowded already)..... Been Googling like mad to get an idea of pictures.

I have this. I had braces as a child, about 36 years ago. I now have excellent teeth which are often commented on. My braces pulled my teeth together and closed the gaps up. My canines are very blunt as, over time, I have ground them down in my sleep! I now have a mouth guard that I can wear at night if I am stressed, as this is when I now grind them.

Would you like me to message you with a picture of my teeth as they are now?

I didn't have any teeth removed the bottom.

Oh, my son has this, I didn't know there was a medical name for it.

He just had two upper back baby teeth out today as they were receding with no adult teeth behind to push them out. There's talk of capping some of his teeth at his next appointment too.

Just goes to show the communication skills of the dentist are not that great! I have no idea what they're actually trying to achieve. Maybe it'll all become clearer over the years.

Littlefish, that would be amazing if you could!!! So many google searches are ending with the implant options. My DD had an accident so her big front teeth were partially broken and they have done wonders with simple white composite fillings. You wouldn't even no. So I am guessing they can even out her canines if a bit pointy! Thanks so much

I have this and so does DD, I have bridges either side of my 2 front teeth that have lasted over 20 years now!

DD is currently going through treatment she has had her incisor reshaped, she currently has braces on to move all the teeth around for the next stage so I don't think you would be able to see very clearly if I sent a picture.

When we were considering treatment the hospital, she's under the Royal London, did a 3D scan of her mouth and made 2 models of different set ups so we could see what the final outcome would look like then we alongside the multi disciplinary teams they have there decided the best route to go for.

All of my children have this and have had braces to straighten and optimise spaces between teeth, followed by bonded bridges. Aside from being eyewaterlingly
Expensive and quite a long treatment, the results have been fab!

Erm eyewateringly...

My DD has this too. She didn't have the option of pushing canines closer to front teeth as they are just too pointy and couldn't have been shaped properly. Instead, the next teeth were pushed the other way to make way for bridges. She had little false teeth attached to her brace to fill the gaps because she was self-conscious about them. It's amazing what they can do!

I have this - I had my teeth pushed together with braces and the canines filled in to look like incisors. The composite they used to fill in my teeth has lasted 25 years so far, still going strong. My teeth look good - you'd never notice.

My child has hypodontia in a very different way so this is just my two-pence worth:

I would opt for a bridge now, because that gives her the option to make her own decisions when she is an adult about what she wants to do. She could then choose to have implants, keep the bridges or even go for the brace/moving option (admittedly this is less socially acceptable as an adult, but not unheard of). As parents of course we have to make these decisions on our child's behalf and I would never judge a parent who is doing what they think is best but personally I keep one eye on the future and try to avoid making permanent, smile-changing decisions for my son unless I absolutely have to.

I have mild hypodontia myself (it's genetic in our case) and my parents opted to give me braces/move the teeth about when I was a similar age. At the time I accepted it but as I grew older I wished things could've been different but moving the teeth back again would be madness plus one tooth has been reshaped and that can't be undone.

Best wishes whichever way you go!

My ds1 has the same adult teeth and other teeth missing. He's had braces for just over a year to move his adult canine teeth to their correct position and has a gap that is now large enough to put the missing teeth in. He's having the braces removed next week and temporary dentures until our dentist attaches a sticky bridge. I have the same teeth missing and have just got braces. But I'm having the canines straightened and moved to where the insisors should be and them filled down and composite to square them off. Ds1 is 15 and been treated at the hospital orthodontist and all of his treatment is free. He will eventually, when he's about 30 need dental implants to replace his baby teeth. But they don't do them on the nhs as you need to have stopped growing, so he'll be too old.

My DD has hypodontia, and has 12 teeth missing, not including wisdom teeth.
She had implant surgery aged 19, funded by NHS due to the severity of her condition. The implant surgery was quite brutal, and recovery took a long time. If you can fix things with a bridge, I would advise that. I wouldn’t put anyone through what she went through.

@rainydogday

I realise this is a very old thread.

What option did you go for with your DD? My DD (13) has exactly the same hypodontia. She has had 2 initial orthodontist sessions for elastics, and is having more brace work done tomorrow. She will need bridges/implants. It’s so hard to know if we’re doing the right thing and she's very anxious. Her teeth are too pointy to move to close the gap I think.

Thanks.