"Impacted teeth" are teeth that have been unable to erupt into the dental arch due to poor positioning or blockage by adjacent teeth. Teeth that are commonly impacted include wisdom teeth and maxillary canines.
Impacted maxillary canines can sometimes be exposed and then orthodontically moved into the archform. An oral surgeon will expose the impacted tooth by removing any bone or gingiva covering it. Then, a bracket and chain will be attached to the tooth and your orthodontist will slowly move it into its ideal position within the archform.
Impacted teeth should be extracted if they cannot be orthodontically brought into the archform.
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