Do Ankylosed Teeth Need to Be Removed?

When treatment planning an ankylosed tooth in an adult, it must be stated that the ankylosed tooth does not need to be extracted just because it is ankylosed. If you think about it, an ankylosed tooth is not that dissimilar from an osseointegrated implant.

When should Ankylosed teeth be removed?

In general, your dentist will opt to extract an ankylosed tooth that is a baby tooth when there's a visible permanent tooth behind it. A space maintainer can help maintain the alignment of erupting adjacent teeth.

Do Ankylosed baby teeth need to be removed?

When the ankylosed tooth is a baby tooth, we will usually watch and see if the permanent tooth will erupt and force the baby tooth out. If this does not happen after a certain period of time, the affected tooth may need to be extracted to make room for permanent teeth to erupt.