Patient's question:
What should I do if a deciduous tooth is retained?Doctor's answer:
Children's teeth that do not fall out during the normal shedding period are called retained deciduous teeth or delayed exfoliation of deciduous teeth. This is a common cause of malpositioned eruption of permanent teeth. The common causes of retained deciduous teeth include atypical resorption of the root of the deciduous tooth or alveolar bone adhesion. Routine treatment should involve the timely extraction of delayed deciduous teeth. If the subsequent permanent tooth is expected not to erupt into the normal position in the near future, an interdental space maintainer should be used to maintain the length of the dental arch. For permanent teeth with abnormal eruption paths, appropriate treatment should be considered based on the specific condition of the abnormal path. In cases of congenital absence of permanent teeth, if the occlusal relationship of other permanent teeth is normal, the deciduous teeth can be retained. If other permanent teeth are crowded or protruding, deciduous teeth should be removed at an appropriate time, and then the space left by the extraction of the delayed deciduous tooth should be used to align the other permanent teeth.