Source
r/Dentistry•
VidiotGamer

Toddler with lopsided teeth length

A quick question - my toddler's teeth have uniformly come in shorter on the left side of her jaw than on the right side. I'm not too terribly concerned about this because she's just a toddler and I assume that her normal adult teeth will probably not have this issue, but I'm hoping someone can cast some light on maybe why this has happened?

It's actually very uniform, which makes it seem odder than a few crooked or short teeth.

Photo for reference: https://ibb.co/qBhv52S

Posted Jul 27, 2020, 4:21 AM UTC · edited

210
shawnieross•

Does she have a thumb sucking habit or use a pacifier often? Picture would be immensely helpful. Even just the child smiling to give us a start.

4
VidiotGamerOP•

Photo and yes she uses a dummy, which we suspect as being the culprit but it's just so odd that its all the teeth on one side of her mouth.

Pic https://ibb.co/qBhv52S

0
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
shawnieross•

Thanks for the pic. Yes it is caused from her dummy. The strength of oral muscles are warping her bite. Every child sucks differently—some use more suction force than others and some toddlers posture with the dummy out the side of their mouth—especially when learning to talk. Her bite has shifted because of her method of posturing it, duration of it in her mouth throughout a 24 hour period as well as how strongly she sucks on it.
The sooner she breaks her habit of her pacifier the increased likelihood of it self correcting. If she doesn’t stop it very soon she will have bite issues that distort her teeth/mouth’s form and function which will require extensive ortho.
You aren’t going to like my answer but.....it’s time she stops the pacifier.
If u have specific questions feel free to message me.

1
ttrandmd•

Teeth don’t always grow in at the same rate. One tooth is probably just growing in slower than another. As long as they all eventually grow in, that is what’s important.

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VidiotGamerOP•

It's not just one tooth though otherwise I wouldn't be concerned. It's every single tooth from her left incisor to her back left molar on both the upper and lower jaw.

1
ttrandmd•

How old is she? Do you have a pic you’d like to share? Any medical conditions? Usually we would monitor something like this. Again, teeth don’t always come in at the same rate. Half of her mouth presenting with slightly delayed eruption doesn’t really tell us much and isn’t really worrisome at this point. As long as they grow in eventually, that’s all that matters. Some babies don’t even have their first tooth till 2-3 years of age. For the most part, they all come in eventually. If you’re still worried and want to put your mind at ease, maybe bring the little one to the pediatric dentist to have them do a quick check.

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VidiotGamerOP•

2.5 years old, no known medical conditions, she does use an "orthodonic" pacifier.

Pic: https://ibb.co/qBhv52S

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ttrandmd•

When she bites together, does she have an open bite? Similar to this: https://i.imgur.com/gtCAG3D.jpg

It may be beneficial to start weening her off the pacifier at this point. Especially if she’s a heavy user.

3