Eye teeth: why problems arise with them and how to avoid them?

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

Eye teeth are a folk name rather than a medical one. Most likely, they were named for the reason that the roots of the teeth are located in the immediate vicinity of the optic nerves. Any inflammatory processes in this area can cause lacrimation, conjunctivitis, severe pain in the eye socket, etc. Because of this feature, canines are removed only after strong anesthesia and by the hands of an experienced doctor. An interesting fact: it was previously thought that an incorrectly pulled out eye tooth could well cause blindness.

What you need to know about eye teeth?

In children and adults, canines grow both on the lower and upper jaw and, as you understand, there are two of them in both cases. The ophthalmic occupies the space between the small molars and the lateral incisors. In young children, their eruption touches the place in the middle of the lateral incisors and normal molars.

Like all their "neighbors", the eye teeth are laid in children even at the stage of their embryonic development, only they penetrate much deeper into the bone tissue.

The characteristic differences that canines have in children and adults are as follows:

• Deeply buried single root, slightly flattened laterally;
• Solid “heavy” crown, two cutting edges of which form an acute angle;
• Somewhat flat crown shape;
• Lingual and labial surfaces of the crown in contact at the incisal edge;
• The eye canines located above, both in adults and in children, are in contact with wider planes, have long cutting edges, and in appearance they are larger than the lower ones.

Where exactly the canine is located, its shape and solidity in general are the best that nature could come up with. Due to their position and structure, the eye teeth help to hold and cut even very hard food. Therefore, their health and integrity must be monitored with special care.

Teething of eye teeth in children: symptoms and timing

Teething of canines causes quite painful symptoms in children, namely:

• Prolonged increase in body temperature, accompanied by chills, aches, etc.;
• Swelling of the mouth and nasal passages, due to which there is a physiological runny nose, nasal congestion and difficulty breathing in general;
• Constant moodiness, anxiety and tearfulness, which prevent babies from sleeping, playing and eating peacefully. Because of this, teething becomes a real test not only for them, but for the whole family;
• Inflammatory process at the site of the appearance of canines;
• Stool disorder;
• The decline of the body's defenses;
• Conjunctivitis and profuse lachrymation. These symptoms are possible if the roots are too close to the beginning of the optic nerve.

If fangs are climbing in children, and this process is accompanied by an increase in temperature to 39 degrees or more, severe diarrhea and coughing, vomiting and signs of intoxication of the body occur, it makes sense to urgently consult a pediatrician. It is possible that you are simply confusing the symptoms of teething and poisoning.

Teething: how to relieve it?

The symptoms of canine teeth in children are difficult to ignore, especially since there are proven ways to reduce their manifestation.

These include the following activities:

1. Massaging the swollen gum area with a clean finger or a special silicone nozzle on it. The latter must be pre-cooled in the refrigerator, and the massage itself involves weak palpation, but not rubbing or strong pressure;
2. For children, devices have long been made to facilitate the process of teeth appearance. They are called teethers, donut-shaped, made of hypoallergenic food grade silicone, and inside filled with distilled water. Before use, the accessory is placed in the freezer for 10 minutes, and then offered to the child. As a rule, children have a desire to constantly pull various things into their mouths, and by biting a bright toy, they imperceptibly ease their own suffering;
3. Painful symptoms can be temporarily neutralized with the help of pain relieving gels for children such as "Kamistad" or "Kalgel". Usually, their pronounced analgesic effect begins almost from the first minutes of application, and it can last for several hours in a row. So the children have the opportunity to fully sleep or eat normally;
4. Nasal congestion in children with erupting eye canines is recommended to be eliminated by instilling Otrivin, Pharmazolin or another age-appropriate vasoconstrictor;
5. Fever, chills and aches caused by fever are relieved with special antipyretic products for children. It is allowed to use "Ibuprofen" in the form of syrup or suppositories, suppositories "Analdim", "Vibrucol", etc.

If you are an adherent of traditional medicine, then for children whose eye canines are very painfully cut, the following remedies can be advised:

• Chamomile infusion, which must be drunk in an amount of three to four tsp. per day;
• Lubrication of the gums with a bandage dipped in sage broth. It is better for the baby to rinse his mouth with them, but with small children this is very problematic;
• Use chilled hard fruits or vegetables as "rodents". Peel carrots, fresh beets, firm apples or pears;
• Painful, inflamed and swollen areas of the gums can be treated with a pharmacy valerian infusion, for which it is convenient to use a cotton swab;
• Introduction to the baby's diet of fortified and dairy products in a larger volume than usual.

Ocular teeth in adults: specific points

After the loss of milk eye canines in children are formed at the age of 9-10 years (applies to the lower row) and at 11-12 (relevant for the upper row). As a rule, they have a permanent location, although their anomalous location is also found. The latter may be the result of a genetic malfunction, a serious mistake by the dentist in the process of removing milk teeth or edentulous - the death of the rudiments of permanent teeth.

All these bite defects can be really corrected with the help of braces, aligners or modern alignment of the row by tearing out the curves of its components and introducing implants.

Eye tooth: removal

Removal is suggested by dentists if the eye canines in children cannot be saved by conservative treatment. An unnatural and untimely loss of a milk tooth can become the root cause of an unnatural and ugly bite in children, while for adults it can result in an inability to chew normally and a total lack of confidence in their own attractiveness.

As mentioned above, the removal of canines occurs in the most extreme situations.

It should be produced by a professional dentist, otherwise the likelihood of such complications increases:

• Suturing as a result of gum dissection. The latter is done for the sake of faster and safer extraction of the tooth;
• Inflammation or dryness of the socket;
• Swelling and inflammation of the gum area;
• Damage to the optic nerve;
• Lunar bleeding;
• Prolonged soreness of the gums and bad breath.

All of these consequences can happen to each of us. The main thing is not to ignore the need to visit the dentist again and not to self-medicate.