The comments

Daniel says:

Hello Doctor,

I would say my condylar hyperplasia is very mild.Although I do hear clicking when I open my mouth fast, I do not experience any discomfort when chewing or any pain or any jaw related problems. Currently I am 19 years old turning 20 in May 2020. 2 years ago my left condyle started growing longer than my right condyle. During that time I had braces. However, my midline did not shift and stayed aligned, and my braces were taken off shortly after. How is this possible?

Also, I would love to have a few extra questions answered as it is very hard to find people with knowledge on this topic online!

1. It has been 2 years since I discovered my overgrown left condyle and ever since, I have not seen a deviation of my dental midline or any noticeable elongation of the condyle. Would it be safe to say growth is now inactive?

2. If growth is active and I need to get a low or high condylectomy, would it be possible to request an intraoral condylectomy to prevent scarring on the outside of my face? Is intraoral condylectomy treatment provided? I live in Sydney, Australia. I ask this because I think intraoral condylectomy is a fairly new procedure.

3. If the condyle is enlarged/thicker than the opposite condyle, is the condyle shaved during condylectomy/Orthognathic surgery in order to match its thickness with the opposite condyle?

4. Is research and treatment for condylar hyperplasia advancing? How safe is condylectomy/orthognathic surgery.

THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE DOCTOR, THIS PAGE HAS BEEN AMAZING!

Claudia says:

Hello doctor Chamberland,

Thank you for your help! I don't know which type of crossbite I have. I'll send a picture of my teeth at your e-mail address, if it is ok.

wenbing says:

Good day Doctor.
I have protruding gum (judging from the test that my mouth are not fully closed when i relax my lips as well as gummy smile. I completed invisalign 3 years ago, however, the gums were not visbibly retracted. Doctor said this is due to not extracting teeth. And even if i did extract teeth, it may not guarantee results because afterall it is my upper jaw issue. so now, i look exactly like case #2.
however, i refuse to do jaw operation. is there any non invasive correction for me to do? pls advise! thank you.

Abigail says:

I have been told that I have an impacted canine tooth (upper right) and that they had to remove the tooth otherwise it could damage the roots of the other teeth it has grown nearly completely horizontal and they said that it will be near on impossible to move it into its proper position without damaging the roots of other teeth what should I do?

Edy says:

Hello Dr. Chamberland,

Do you perform the MSE technique?

Best regards,

Dr Sylvain Chamberland, Orthodontiste says:

What will happen on the right side?
What will happen to you maxillary dental midline?
It is not a big problem to have a premolar in position of a canine. I do have this in my mouth. The important point is to have the midline of the teeth align with the facial midline.

Dr Sylvain Chamberland, Orthodontiste says:

If the canines did not move in 4 years, pronostic is not good. It maybe a good idea to extract them.

Dr Sylvain Chamberland, Orthodontiste says:

There is very good specialist in Edmonton. University of ALberta run a clinic for TMJ problems. The have very good rhumatologist.
It is sad that your daughter is affected by ICR. Keep in mind it could be a form of juvenile idiopathics arthritis that may affect more than the TMJ.
Did you read my article "Progressive idiopathic condylar resorption: Three case reports
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889540618311223

Jackie Hawthorn says:

Hi, my daughter was diagnosed with idiopathic condylar resorption about a year and a half ago. She was having pain when chewing from time to time so I took her to her dentist who referred her to a specialist in Edmonton Alberta. She has just turned 11 and we will be going back to see her doctor in nest 6 months sometime. She has recently had and MRI that ruled out any rheumatoid arthritis. She is affected on only one side (as far as her last images) and her Dr felt that at the time it was in "repair" on the damaged side. I have no idea what our next steps after this are or what this even means for our daughter (I feel she is very young for this diagnosis - most others I have found on line are older that her). Right now she takes vitamin C,D and glucosamine each day. Plus she is on a soft food diet (now load on the jaw). I also give her - k2 (mk-7), boron, magnesium, vitamin E, a probiotic - each day. There will not be enough room in her mouth for all her adult teeth when they come in. She is seeing an orthodontist from the same office as her specialist. I am also then wondering if she should be seeing a surgeon as well at this time to make sure we do all the right things as she grows over the next several years. Thanks for your time.
Jackie

Noelle says:

I had my baby upper canine teeth removed to create a gap in my teeth for my impacted canine teeth to grow down, i’ve had two springs in between my incisor and premolars for four years and the impacted canines haven’t moved a millimeter since. The ortho is now suggesting removing the impacted canines and closing the gap by bringing my premolars slightly forward and angling my incisors down since I have an overbite. I was wondering if I should get a second look by another ortho or oral surgeon. Thank you for your time.

Marcelo says:

Hey Dr, i had my upper left canine removed today, as my ortho recomended, so the idea is to make the first premolar the new canine, so, i wanted to now, will it look weird? I tried to look online for pics of cases like mine but I just couldn't find it, thanks.

Dr Sylvain Chamberland, Orthodontiste says:

I agree to remove the primary canine, but NOT the permanent canine. Forget an implant for such a young person.
Send the xray to orthochamberland@videotron.ca

Dr Sylvain Chamberland, Orthodontiste says:

No, it will not work on adults.

Dr Sylvain Chamberland, Orthodontiste says:

Ask him how he plan to correct the posterior crossbite?

Each ortho may have his own plan, but I would first extract the primary canine, ask for surgical ligature and begin the orthodontic traction.
If you have posterior crossbite, then it should be plan to expand the maxilla. This is can be done at the same time with proper appliance. The new Maxillary Skeletal Expander (MSE) would work for you. I comprehend that you can do the canine traction followed by the maxillary expansion.
Keep in mind that you mention in your first post "lateral crosbite", which I interpret as a posterior crossbite. I may be wrong. You may meant crossbite of the lateral incisor.

Can you confirm wich type of crossbite you have?

Claudia says:

Dr Sylvain Chamberland, Orthodontiste says:

Impacted Maxillary Canine/ Retained primary canine

I would NOT extract the permanent canine.

L says:

Hi,

I am 28 and have a top impacted canine, which has not affected me since acknowledging this. When I was around 16, I had terrible tooth pain, infection and the baby tooth was extracted, and nothing was done about the impacted canine. It was therefore left with the xtracted space gap. This gap has now gone smaller (although still there and bothering me) but the front tooth near it has also shifted and started to move a little into filling the space.

I wanted to close this gap asap- I had seeked orthodontic advice and was told invisalign or fixed braces wouldn't be the best way forward, but to bring the impacted canine down? I am worried how this would work as there isn't enough space for this and I don't want to extract healthy teeth nearby? Ideally I wanted to extract the impacted canine and close the gap- either with braces/implant or dental bridge. What would be your advice on this?

Karin Luisa says:

I love your detailed description of how the protractive facemask works---and the photos of success stories!

May I please ask if there is ANY chance this could work on adults?

Thanks so much for your view!

Sabrina says:

Hello Dr Chamberland,
My almost 11 year old son has a horizontally impacted canine in his upper jawline. So far, we have been to see 2 specialists, neither of which have given us a clear approach to the issue. One suggests removing the baby canine tooth and removing the impacted one so that the space is reserved for an eventual implant, while the other suggests removing the baby tooth and leaving the impacted tooth in place. As well, my son seems to have a conical shaped incissor on the same side, but it is unclear as it is still coming in and is inwards in his palate. I was wondering if I might be able to send you a picture of the panoramic xray to have an opinion on the best course of action.
Thanking you in advance for any suggestion you may have for us.

Claudia says:

Hello dr. Chamberlaid,

I'm 34 years old and I have an impacted canine (13) and lateral crossbite. The crown of the impacted canine is very low, just above the central incisor. I'd like to send you my panoramic but not sure how to do it (I don't have facebook). I visited 2 othodontics, one said to remove the milk tooth and try traction of the canine while the other advised removal of impacted canine and an implant. What is your opinion, what should I do? Thanks