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Most adults have long forgotten the day their last baby tooth came out, but for Emily Cheeseman of England, it was like yesterday. That’s because Cheeseman just "lost" her six front baby teeth at age 28.
According to a story on Dentristry.co.uk, Cheeseman was born with hypodontia, a condition where a number of adult teeth don’t develop. In Cheeseman’s case, not only did her permanent teeth not come in, her six front baby teeth stayed put. She recently had those baby teeth removed in order to make room for new dental implants.
“There are surprisingly large numbers of people walking around with baby teeth,” says New York dentist Dr. Michael Sinkin. “I can think of half a dozen patients in my practice who have lower baby molars. Although six baby teeth in front is unusual.”
Baby teeth usually appear at around five or six months, with all 20 baby teeth usually showing up by age 2 ½. By five, the first permanent tooth comes in with most permanent teeth (with the exception of wisdom teeth) arriving at around age 12 or 13.
In most cases, the permanent tooth’s arrival heralds the demise of the baby tooth (not to mention the arrival of the tooth fairy). But if a permanent tooth doesn’t come in, Sinkin says it’s not unusual for a baby tooth to stick around.
“If the permanent tooth doesn’t develop then oftentimes, the baby tooth’s roots don’t resorb (or dissolve),” he says. “It’s very common, if they’re missing the permanent tooth, for the baby teeth to stay.”
Although Cheeseman opted to have her six front baby teeth extracted and replaced with dental implants, Sinkin says it’s actually feasible for an adult to keep a baby tooth his or her whole life.
“If a root doesn’t resorb, [the tooth] could last a person’s lifetime,” he says. “I have a 72-year-old woman who currently needs a crown on a baby tooth because of decay. She doesn’t have a permanent tooth there.”
Although hypodontia is nothing to worry about, “as long as you’re under the care of a dentist,” Sinkin says there is a chance it could be associated with certain genetic conditions (according to a 2008 study, hypodentia may also be a risk marker for epithelial ovarian cancer).
As for which teeth will likely shortchange come tooth fairy time, experts say wisdom teeth are the most common permanent teeth not to develop; after that, it’s the upper lateral incisors, the teeth on either side of your two front teeth.
“If you look at early pictures of David Bowie, you’ll see his eye teeth where the lateral incisors should be,” he says. “He subsequently had a bit of dentistry done.”
Do you still have some of your baby teeth? Or know someone who does? Tell us about it in the comments.
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I have hypodontia - I am missing my first molars on each side on the bottom, and my baby teeth did not survive the test of time! And unfortunately, insurance companies see it as a cosmetic procedure, so I do not (yet) have implants, as they are $$$$$$. So, I survive with no teeth in 2 spots!
My bottom two wisdom teeth and one lower bicuspid never developed. My two top wisdom teeth are there in my gums, but never came in. At age 20, my dentist told me that he needed to pull out my baby bicuspid and replace it with an implant. The implant actually failed and fell out. It turns out that the dentist was a quack and the baby tooth didn't need to be pulled yet since there was nothing wrong with it - he was just trying to generate revenue! Anyway, I'm still missing that tooth and have decided to just leave it alone since it's in the back of my mouth and nobody can really see that it's missing unless I smile really big. As for the rest of my teeth, the permanent ones were extremely slow to come in when I was a kid. I lost my first tooth in the 3rd grade when I was 8 years old, got my 6 year old molars when I was 10, and got my 12 year old molars when I was 16. The 12 year old molars actually needed help to come up - I had surgery to attach them to my braces while they were still under my gums. They were pulled up manually by my braces. It was horribly painful. I'm wondering if hypodontia is related to other skin, hair, and nail issues that I have. I have beaded hair / monilethrix (very rare - inherited from my mom), eczema, and very thin, brittle nails.
I am missing my permanent lateral bicuspids. After having braces my dentist had veneers placed on them, in order for my smile to look more appealing (in hindsight I wish I had the baby teeth bonded instead). The gum tissue is now receeding above the veneer and I will be forced to have the baby tooth pulled and implants placed instead. Furthermore, I only had 3 wisdom teeth develop (all of which remained fully impacted and were surgically removed after my braces came off.) I, too, have hair, skin, and nail issues. I recently learned that my son has 2 molars which have never developed. His teeth are coming in VERY slowly and he will be getting headgear this summer in hopes to make room for permanent teeth to erupt.
Still got a baby tooth at 63. Lower right incisor.
Yep, I'm 49 and still have a babytooth left eye tooth.
My "baby" teeth were the same as yours, first molar on both bottom sides. Mine didn't last, either. I've been quoted about 10K for spacing and implants. My teeth have shifted some, but its not too bad. The missing spots aren't visible, thankfully, or I'd have to sell a kidney to buy some teeth!
I'm 29 and still have a baby canine tooth. It isn't noticable and doesn't effect my smile. I DO have the adult tooth, but it rests along the roof of my mouth (too deep to feel). Both teeth have healthy blood flow, but I didn't learn of the issue until I was in my early 20's when I switched dentists. I've had an orthodontist evaluate "fixing" the issue, and it resulted in an estimated 3 year, $8k series of procedures. I also didn't have upper wisdom teeth. Oddly enough, ovarian cancer runs in my family.
WashTex4Life - I have the exact same issue as you, exact same tooth (on my left side) - and my permanent one is somewhere up there. I'm 27. Everyone swears up and down that they can't tell, but I hate it - I feel like my smile is lopsided because the right side has the adult tooth. I did, however, recently finish Invisalign, which definitely improved my smile - but it's not perfect because of that little tooth!
I have the same issue too! I'm 29 with a baby canine on the right side. When I take pictures I always try to make sure that I tilt my head so my smile is seen from the left. I keep hoping my adult tooth will decide to make it's way down. More than likely I'll be living with, what a close friend affectionately labeled, my "snaggle-tooth" for the rest of my life. =/
I had the same thing (runs in my family), but if you do wait too long (as my dad, his mom, etc did), the jaw bone can absorb the adult tooth and you can't get it fixed, or the tooth may have been too affected and weakened to work right. I got mine (both top eye teeth) fixed when I was 14 and they are more yellow than my other teeth.
I was put under and they removed the baby teeth (i already had braces on). They exposed the adult teeth which were behind the others and cemented brackets to the backs of the teeth as that was the only surface available.
My dad still has his baby tooth (age 52) and he just has to be careful with it as it's brittle.
I also had to get all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed when I was 18. 2 were impacted and one partially. I also notice the people in my family that have this baby canine problem have not as strong enamel on our teeth... I wonder if that has anything to do with it???
I have five missing adult teeth. Right now I still am retaining two baby teeth first incisors on the bottom of my mouth. The other three were lost and were the first incisors and the third tooth from a canine on my right side. I have only one gap on top due to some orthodontic treatment but hate it! I wanted to get implants for the gap and for the two retained incisors, but the amount is outrageous and my dental insurance won't cover a thing.
I have one baby tooth still, I'm 55. Thank god, its still good. So 28 isn't so old.. ha ha
Lost all my baby teeth by 13... but I am one of those folks whose wisdom teeth just don't exist. In many ways, I'm glad. On the other hand, I hope it doesn't point to a more serious medical condition, as suggested in the article.
I also lost all my baby teeth, mouth was fairly normal, little smaller than average though, so had 7 adult teeth removed to allow for space. Was told I would never have wisdom teeth. Had braces for 5 years, ended up with a perfect smile. 4 years after getting my braces removed, my teeth made a durastic shift and the dentist said my wisdom teeth showed up. There went 5000 bucks right down the drain. Mouth was again too small for them to fit so they ruined my smile and are stuck under my bone, have to get my jaw broken to get them removed(doing that procedure this month). Then getting my braces put back on so they can realign my smile. So consider yourself lucky for never having them, but don't take the dentists word for it! It has been the most expensive mistake of my dentist's career!
I had my two front lower center baby teeth removed when I was 52. I wore braces for two years to make room for implants. It's been a long process but soon I'll have implants.
I have the same problem and was wondering if you can give me some insight on what you did and how much it cost? im currently 26 with two front lower teeth which are still baby teeth
More curious on procedure, duration, and the cost that is going to be involved? and any complications you had along the way?
I have the same issue, too! I am 27, and my bottom two front teeth are baby teeth. I'm starting to become interested in the process of having them replaced, as well! These two teeth are becoming several shades darker than the rest of my teeth... browning... and it's making me self conscious a little. Do you guys have that issue? Also, are your top front teeth kind of large and long? Mine are, and my dentist said its probably because of that.
I don't understand how this made the news. This is hardly a rare occurrence.
I have 4 baby teeth left at age 50. Dentists have told me for 30 years they will fall out "soon". Sometimes the gums recede and the roots are exposed and that is painful. But if you don't have insurance you just stick to soft foods no caramel apples for me!
I have no baby teeth left, but I started losing them early, at age five (the article says it's normal, but most people I know start losing them a year or two later). I am unusual in that I had five wisdom teeth (two on the bottom right), but only one was removed (not the extra). The extra's the only one that didn't break through, and the other ones don't seem to need to be removed. The only one removed was one coming out at an angle. Getting it removed was the right thing to do, because it stopped the occasional puffy gums and stuffed nose (it was in my sinuses).
My lower adult canines came in behind the baby canines, so the roots didn't resolve, so my whole life my lower canines were "doubled"; one behind the other. When I was 30 and pregnant, my teeth shifted a bit, I bit down on them and knocked them loose. I had the two baby canines removed and still had a whole set because of the adult teeth that had grown in behind them. It gets better... When I was about 39 I felt like there was a piece of popcorn skin stuck in my gums behind my upper left canine. It turned out to be another tooth; my adult canine. The baby tooth loostened as the adult tooth came in and finally came out. Then my other upper adult canine came soon after finally pushing that last (hopefully!) baby tooth out as well.
My baby tooth was just removed last month, as the adult tooth (upper right canine) decided to finally make an appearance (I'm 31!) The adult tooth is not as forward as it should be, mainly because it had no room to make it ! I'm annoyed because this could have been avoided first when (at 17) my old-geezer dentist had paid attention and again at 22 when my new dentist told me that I didn't have to have the baby tooth removed, the "adult one will grow and push it out". So i left in the baby tooth until last month, had it removed and now I am going to spend $4,000 to get upper braces to have the adult tooth moved into place.
i have four baby teeth still... no wisdom teeth at all... two have finally started to crumble, but the other two are holding strong (at least for now) i rather enjoy being an anomaly for my friends.
I have 2 baby teeth left at age 33. Apparently, the adult teeth are there, but never descended. It will involve some complicated oral surgery to get all that sorted out, so I'm hoping they all just stay put! I only had 3 wisdom teeth as well. There are several people in my family that have a couple baby teeth due to missing adult teeth so I never thought of it as strange, but I guess it is to others.
I still have one at 39. I am not sure if it is true or not, but my dentist told me it is hereditary and skips a generation. My grandmother does still have a baby tooth as well.
It's definitely hereditary (at least in my family), but it doesn't skip generations... at least what we have. Either one or both of the top canine teeth don't get pushed out by the adult canines in some of my family members. I got it fixed as did my 2 cousins with one canine issues each. My dad still has one baby tooth as does his mom. My granny's grandpa passed away with 2 baby teeth, that did skip a generation but not the rest of us.
I still have a baby molar with no adult tooth under it. I've had dentist tell me it'll fall out "soon", and one wanted to chisel it out and replace it with an implant. I'm almost 40 and it's solid as a rock, though it does have a filling. My grandmother is in her mid 80's, and she has two baby teeth still.
I have a bottom molar on the left side that is a baby molar, the adult molar is not there, my dentist said that we could pull it out and put in an implant... but I really can't afford it!!! and to me it looks fine, i don't see why he would want to pull it out... maybe he just wants money - but I don't see anything wrong with it. I am 27 years old.
Whew! That makes me feel better! I'm 15 and still haven't lost all my baby teeth, so this makes me feel loads better that I'm not the only one out there!
I didn't loose my last baby tooth until 17! don't feel bad :)
hello there im 15 too!!!! im a singaporean.. ive one baby tooth at my upper right side..when i was 12 i told my dentist to extract the baby tooth out because i realized that my adult teeth is somewhere near the baby tooth .. but the dentist said that it cannot be extract(for a reason which i dont know)..when im 14 i feel like im an alien where all my freinds are soo normal..then i decided to pull the baby tooth myself but then it didnt came out but the baby tooth breaks..and now from far people can see it as if i got missing tooth..
what should i do know?please help me..im going 16 and i had enough of keeping my smile and being a quite person.. thanx alot! =)
I'm 20 years old, and I still have one baby tooth. It's my upper right canine, I believe. It looks weird, and my dentist has had to fill it twice because it's starting to decay. It's also impacted, and my quack of a dentist won't pull it unless I see an orthodontist... And I can't afford what they want me to do. I just want the dumb thing out.
At 29, I still have a baby tooth on the lower left side. There is a permanent tooth underneath it, but it never ascended. Looks like my solution will be to eventually have braces to pull up the permanent tooth, but I don't mind since half the root on the baby tooth is dissolved! My grandpa still has baby teeth, and my dad has two incisors that simply never developed (you wouldn't know it unless you counted his teeth). It's an interesting quirk to have ... always gives me something to include when playing "two truths & a lie." ;)
I'm 44 and still have 4 baby teeth. Every time I go to the dentist they bring over new technicians to see the old bag with the baby teeth. I've had sealants put on them and so far no decay. I have no plans to extract the since the are not in front.
I'm almost 52 and still have four baby teeth - one has recently cracked, but the other three are just fine. Never did have wisdom teeth, either.
Hi
I still have my canine baby tooth and my dentist said that will fall out eventually, but still holding strong.Now concern about ovarian cancer, doesn't run in my family but i will check with my OBGYN.I love my baby tooth!!!!!!!!!!!
My story doesn't have to do with keeping baby teeth, it has to do with being born with one, althogh I am the mother, not the baby born with a tooth. I'll never forget when the pediatrician came to see me after the birth of my son. He told me his apgar was good, all his fingers and toes had arrived when the baby did, and on his way out, he stopped in the doorway, looked back said "BTW, he was born with a tooth." By the time I stopped being flabbergasted, he had left the floor. The next day, he told me that when a baby is born with a tooth, they call it an "egg tooth". He said it would fall out within a month or two. My son kept it til he was 7 yrs old. There is a reason they call it medical "practice"! Now if they'd all get perfect from all that practice!
Lori: 26 years ago my 10 lb. bouncing baby boy was born with 2 teeth already errupted in his lower jaw. Made for some painful nursing, for sure! He kept those teeth until he was about 5 or 6.