# is having one set of teeth possible and or rare? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2011, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960 "2011-07-22T07:57:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960/21 "2011-07-22T15:11:46Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > TheKid had to have 5 of her milk teeth removed as they did not want to come out on their own, and her adult teeth were coming in. The roots on two bottom front teeth were an inch long. They had no intention of coming out on their own. Then again, she didn’t lose her first tooth until she was 9… Something not identical but similar happened to me (and my mom, and my brother): the last of my milk teeth was happy to stay where it was, and finally it had to be extracted, complete with roots. It took some two years for the adult tooth to emerge. As a kid I always agreed with Calvin: " I have to say, I’m not entirely comfortable holding a piece of my own head." ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960/22 "2011-07-22T15:56:36Z")
TheKid was bummed that _other_ kids received little plastic treasure chests for their extracted teeth, but hers were too long to fit. They came home in a plastic baggie. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960/23 "2011-07-22T16:27:13Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > I know it’s possible for individual teeth. I have 2 lower bicuspids which are milk teeth (I am 35). Likewise; of my first molars, three of the four never came in as adult teeth. Since the primary teeth are actually larger than the adult teeth, it was causing crowding in my mouth. My dentist pulled all four (including the one unoffending adult molar) when I was 13, and I then wore braces for two years – to both straighten the crooked teeth, and to pull the remaining molars (all of which were adult teeth) “up” one space. ---
**Author:** ![gingerlassie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c89c15/32.png) [@gingerlassie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gingerlassie)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960/24 "2012-03-08T21:46:10Z")
Im 16, and I was extremely worried a year ago when I realised many of my younger molars hadn’t fallen out. I had an x-ray, and it showed that all my teeth were infact adult teeth. Therefore, 8 of my teeth have never fallen out. It is possible that I never had milk teeth in these areas, so you may have the same problem as me 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960/25 "2012-03-08T22:13:51Z")
This [site](http://http://cyberdentist.blogspot.com/2007/01/congenitally-missing-permanent-teeth.html) suggests its possible, though it does not explicitly say all permanent teeth. There’s even a term for it: [hypodontia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodontia) ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960/26 "2012-03-08T22:20:31Z")
What’s cool are third sets of teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960/27 "2012-03-09T01:14:52Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > What’s cool are third sets of teeth. Yeah, you can take them out and put them in a glass at night. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960/28 "2012-03-09T01:31:27Z")
> [@gingerlassie](#): > > Im 16, and I was extremely worried a year ago when I realised many of my younger molars hadn’t fallen out. I had an x-ray, and it showed that all my teeth were infact adult teeth. Therefore, 8 of my teeth have never fallen out. It is possible that I never had milk teeth in these areas, so you may have the same problem as me 🙂 How did you know your molars hadn’t fallen out? I mean, were you keeping track of which ones fell out? I don’t think I had any idea, even back at 16, what teeth I had and hadn’t lost. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960/29 "2012-03-09T02:00:53Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > Yeah, you can take them out and put them in a glass at night. Makes visits to the dentist so easy, too - just hand him your teeth and leave. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-one-set-of-teeth-possible-and-or-rare/589960.md?page=1)