What’s a Peg Lateral Incisor?

What’s a peg lateral incisor? Well, essentially it’s when your second tooth (the ones right by the front teeth) decide to grow in tiny compared to a normal lateral incisor. A lateral incisor is supposed to grow in almost to the length of the teeth right next to them, and definitely be wide enough to fill the gap between the front tooth and the canine. However, in the case of a peg lateral incisor, what happens is the permanent lateral incisor doesn’t fully mature, so when it grows in, it looks like an almost triangular-shaped tooth that leaves a gap between the front tooth and the canine tooth, and can be very short in comparison to surrounding teeth as well.

In some people, they never lose their baby lateral incisor, so the permanent teeth that grow in around it look large in comparison to the tiny baby tooth. In addition, an adult lateral incisor never grows to take the baby tooth’s place. This is not a true peg lateral incisor, however. A baby lateral incisor that lives among other adult teeth is called an over retained deciduous tooth, not a peg lateral. A peg lateral incisor is a permanent tooth that grows in under-developed among other adult teeth.

Is a peg lateral incisor a concern? Cosmetically perhaps, as the tooth being unable to fill in the proper space allotted for it can make a person’s smile or teeth appear misaligned. The space between the peg lateral incisor and the surrounding teeth can be a troublesome spot for food to get stuck in, and the tooth can look just plain weird to the people who have them. In some people, they have only a single peg lateral incisor, but in most (like me) both the incisors are peg lateral in appearance.

Luckily, if the roots to the peg lateral incisor are normal sized, veneers or crowns can be placed on the peg lateral incisor to make them the proper size compared to other teeth. However, many people who have peg lateral incisors (which are under-developed teeth) also have weak or small roots in addition, so cosmetic repair may be more extensive, such as placing a splint bar behind the tooth and the tooth next to it, to support the tooth structure for veneers or crowns.

If you have a peg lateral incisor, you’re not alone. I have them, and they are tiny. I call them my baby teeth, although they are indeed permanent. Luckily, all my teeth are small, so they don’t look that odd, but people often tell me the only reason they can recognize me in my driver’s license is because of my “little teeth.” I choose to look at my teeth as a sort of defining trademark for myself rather than a cosmetic flaw. But if you have peg lateral incisors and you hate them, there may be something you can do about it.

Sources:

personal knowledge (and ownership) of peg laterals

http://www.peglateralincisors.com/