Anonymous wrote:I have several baby molars, the adult molars never grew. It's NBD. They were never pulled. They just stayed there.

How old are you? I'm in the same boat and both of my two baby molars fell out late 30s and now I'm getting implants.

I still have two baby molars and I'm 55. I'm also married to a dentist. If they need to come out I will get an implant. As for now they're doing good.

I am also missing a molar as is my dad and his with mom. My son is missing 2. We never removed the baby teeth, why would you? Just to put an implant and pay the dentist a lot of money for it? I am 40 and my baby teeth is still in its place. My dad lost his around 45. We can get implants when we actually lose the tooth. Btw my dad is a dentist!

I was missing the first adult molar on the top on both sides. I had the baby ones pulled out around age 11, right before getting braces, and then the gap was closed by the braces.

I am missing one adult tooth - I think it is my 2nd pre-molar. Fell out when I was 17 and I never did anything about it. I have a smallish gap there, but its far enough back that is not noticeable and I think missing it even helped with crowding. Is an implant really necessary?

Thank you from OP. This is super helpful to hear the stories and get a better sense of what avenues we may need to take.

Anonymous wrote:I have several baby molars, the adult molars never grew. It's NBD. They were never pulled. They just stayed there.

Same, although mine did eventually fall out around 40. I haven't gotten implants yet, but I will.

So I have all my teeth and my DH does too but we have multiple kids with missing teeth-- I blame him. One with 1st molar on top and bottom missing on opposite sides. At the age of 20 he just got an implant on the top (10k JFYi) because the baby finally came out and you can see it when he smiles now and it bothered him. The bottom baby tooth came out a lot earlier and the ortho just moved the adult teeth so there isn't a large gap. His teeth don't align but hasn't had a bite problem.

I have another missing #10 which is right next to the front tooth on the top. Ortho moved teeth to fill that gap too. Tom Cruise is actually missing one of those front teeth too and most people never noticed.

Orthodontia is great now. Mine did Invisalign for what seemed like a long time. You're will probably start early actually to maintain space, move teeth.

I have several baby molars, the adult molars never grew. It's NBD. They were never pulled. They just stayed there.

I don't have an asymmetrical situation but my orthodontists removed 4 baby teeth around age 9 and 4 of my adult teeth around age 12 in sets or pairs to make space. (New hygienists notice when they count.) As a result, I didn't have to get my wisdom teeth removed.

My younger son had an underbite. He went to the ortho at age 3 for headgear. It's all good now and he is 16 and almost done with Invisalign.

I think if they start young, the orthodontia can do much more.

My mother-in-law still has the condition my son had. In an adult they have to do jaw surgery to fix it.

I hope all goes smooth for your kid.

I had that. Had a Maryland bridge put in, as a teen which fell out every few years. Finally had an implant in my 30’s and it’s been great with no issues ever since.

DD was missing adult teeth. We had her followed by an orthodontist from around age 6. They discovered a tooth growing sideways due to the missing adult teeth and were able to recommend an extraction that eliminated the risk of serious problems and painful treatment.

Orthodontia included making space for the missing teeth which could be replaced by bridges or implants. Implants can not be done until the jaw stops growing so that is an adult decision. We used retainers that held the space for awhile and then did bridges because wearing retainers forever is kind of a pain.

Orthodontist only charged us for the flat fee for braces. Bridges were expensive and first set failed but they didn’t bill us for the failed set. So biggest issue was time.

I was missing a molar. My recommendation is to start orthodontic work on the early side - like age 8-9ish. Back in the early 90’s, my parents were told to wait until I was almost 12. The tooth was far back enough that they decided to remove the baby tooth and close the gap. The problem was that I was older (a teen by the time they pulled the tooth) and my jaw didn’t handle that major shift of teeth very well. I ended up with tmj type headaches and they ended up opening the gap and putting in a bridge. The new gap was too small for an implant at the time. I recently was told that newer implants are smaller and would fit, but I’ve learned to be happy with my little bridge.

My 6yo had xrays done at her dental appointment today and she is missing her first adult molar on the lower right side. All other teeth appear formed as they should.

She has a smaller jaw and smaller teeth in general, and already has crowded teeth on the bottom, so her dentist said orthodonture might sort it out. If not, she said they typically keep the tooth until late adolescence and then would have it pulled and have an implant. Getting ahead of myself, I know, but (1) has anyone BTDT? What was the outcome? And (2) how would pulling the tooth and getting an implant impact the results of the orthodonture work I presume will take place earlier in adolescence? Is this a case where we'd have to wait until she is finishing HS to get braces?

Looking for any anecdotal info to supplement (since I have and will continue to discuss with her dentist along with do my own research which I have started). Thanks.