When adult teeth come in, what fills the gap in the jaw/skull?

576 views

I recently saw one of those x-rays of a toddler’s jaw showing all the adult teeth waiting to come in and it got me thinking: when those teeth do come in and free up that space, what takes its place? Does new bone matter fill in the gaps? How long does it take? Can the jaw be injured more easily as those gaps fill in?

In: Biology

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Dentist here. Permanent teeth generally erupt into the space previously occupied by the baby tooth almost immediately after the tooth is lost (months for complete eruption). I’m not sure that I visualize exactly what you are visualizing, however bone follows tooth so it will “fill in” up to just below the crown of the tooth, just below the CEJ. In health, bone covers the root within a few millimeters of the gum line that you see. Tooth roots are not “fused” to bone, but rather are attached to bone by a periodontal ligament. If you see an X-ray or permanent teeth, you will find a very narrow shadow surrounding the root, which is the periodontal ligament space. Any gaps between the teeth are filled in by the teeth themselves as they erupt and move together. Sometimes people will have spaces between their permanent teeth, in which case bone occupies the space between roots. [This is an X-ray showing a normal pattern of eruption in the mixed dentition (both permanent and baby teeth present.)](https://images.app.goo.gl/Cw5naJ6LohkY9HFb9)

Anonymous 0 Comments

Yeah they grow as the other tooth pushes out. And yeah their is some gaps but it helps keep your head light same what your sinuses do.

Anonymous 0 Comments

[deleted]