Expose & Bonds

Why Expose & Bond?

Normally all permanent teeth have erupted by the early teenage years. Occasionally, some teeth do not make it all the way into the mouth and become impacted, or stuck in the jaw. When this occurs it is important to guide these teeth into the mouth or they will be permanently implacted. This condition occurs most frequently in the upper cuspids but could occur in any location. In addition to wanting all teeth in the mouth for function and aesthetics, leaving a tooth impacted can lead to resorption of adjacent teeth and the development of cysts and tumors. Bringing the tooth into the mouth is extremely important.

What's Involved?

An impacted tooth can have a bracket bonded attachment applied enabling the orthodontist to guide the tooth safely into the mouth. The patient can be either awake or asleep depending upon the desires of the patient and complexity of the procedure. The tooth is exposed and the bracket is bonded just as normal orthdontic brackets are bonded to the front surface of the tooth. The bracket typically has a gold chain attached to it, which will be brought out of the gum tissue and tied to the adjacent orthodonitc appliances. After healing, the patient returns to the orthodontist for traction on the gold chain to guide the tooth into the mouth. Depending on the depth of impaction, the tooth is often erupting in just a few months. On rare occasions, the impacted tooth will be "ankylosed" (fused with the bone and rendering it totally immobile) but the tooth is brought into the mouth successfully in over 97% of the cases.

Your Recovery

After the bonding procedure, the gums around the bonded tooth will be tender and chewing should be avoided in this area. Healing normally progresses rapidly and pain medicine is only required the first 24-48 hours. If sutures are required, we often use the kind that dissolve which means you would not need to return for follow up visits. As always, we welcome post-operative questions or calls and we are happy to see you anytime a question arises.

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4300 Oak Park Lane • Fort Worth, Texas 76109
817-731-2789 phone 800-333-9189 toll free 817-207-9980 fax

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