Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sejpdw]

The sooner kids get their teeth sorted out, the better, a study has found. In most cases, kids have to wait until their teens to get sticking-out teeth seen to.

What's the meaning of " to get sticking-out teeth seen to" and what's the grammatical function of "to" in that phrase?

[Bluegum]

"Seen to" is not the same as "seen." It means fixed up, usually by an expert. So "get their sticking out teeth seen to" means "if they have any teeth that stick out they should have them fixed."