An average 3-year-old child typically has 20 primary teeth. By the time that child reaches the age of 6 or 7, their primary teeth begin to shed and are replaced with permanent teeth. By the age of 21, the average person has 32 permanent teeth, 16 of which are in the upper jaw, the other 16 being in the lower jaw.
However, things do not always go as planned. Sometimes, adults may have more than 32 teeth; sometimes adults have fewer than 32 teeth. These conditions are referred to as hyperdontia and hypodontia, respectively.
If you’re searching for a top-quality dentist in Hermitage, TN who understands everything there is to know about hyperdontia and hypodontia, then you’ve come to the right place. Read on to learn more about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of hyperdontia and hypodontia.
What Is Hyperdontia?
Hyperdontia is a dental condition that causes extra teeth to grow inside your mouth. The extra teeth that grow in your mouth are usually referred to as supernumerary teeth. Supernumerary teeth can grow anywhere on your dental arches (the curved areas where your teeth are attached to your jaw).
These extra teeth usually grow close to or directly behind your primary or permanent teeth. It is more common to have extra permanent teeth than extra primary ones. According to a study, hyperdontia is twice as common in women.
Symptoms of Hyperdontia
It can be tricky to detect hyperdontia. The main symptom of hyperdontia is the growth of teeth close to or directly behind your primary or permanent teeth.
These teeth are categorized based on their shape and location in the mouth.
Based on shape:
- Supplemental: The tooth takes its shape from the type of tooth it grows near.
- Tuberculate: The tooth has a barrel or tube-like shape.
- Conical, or peg-shaped: The tooth has a wide base and then narrows out at the top, making it look sharp and pointed.
- Compound odontoma: The tooth is made up of various small, tooth-like growths close to each other.
- Complex odontoma: Instead of a single tooth, this is an area of tooth-like tissues growing in a disordered group.
Based on location:
- Paramolar: The tooth grows at the back of the mouth, next to one of the molars.
- Distomolar: The tooth grows in line with your molars instead of growing around them.
- Mesiodens: The tooth grows around or behind your incisors. It is the most common form of hyperdontia in people.
Although hyperdontia is usually painless, extra teeth can place pressure on your gums and jaws, which makes them painful and swollen. Our dentist in Hermitage, TN, Dr. Brian George, can help detect even minor indications of hyperdontia if you’re experiencing symptoms.
Causes of Hyperdontia
The exact cause of hyperdontia isn’t known, but it seems to be associated with certain hereditary conditions. These conditions include:
- Gardner’s syndrome is a rare genetic condition that causes colon growths, skull growths, and skin cysts.
- Cleidocranial dysplasia: This condition causes abnormal or unusual development of the collarbone and skull.
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: This is an inherited condition that causes bruised skin, painful muscles and joints, scoliosis, and loss of joints that easily dislocate.
- Cleft palate and lip: This is a birth defect that causes an opening in the upper lip or roof of the mouth, ear infections, and trouble speaking or eating.
- Fabry disease: This syndrome causes painful hands and feet, rashes, the inability to sweat, and abdominal pain.
Hyperdontia Treatment in Hermitage, TN
Treating hyperdontia may sound major, but it actually isn’t too big of a deal. Our full range of comprehensive dental services at Dental Bliss Hermitage provides treatment for patients experiencing symptoms of hyperdontia. We can help you remove your extra teeth with little discomfort and stress so that you can enjoy improved oral health and a better physical well-being.
What Is Hypodontia?
Hypodontia is pretty much the opposite of hyperdontia. Hypodontia is a medical condition that causes a person to have an incomplete set of teeth. Instead of having 20 primary teeth as a child and 32 permanent teeth as an adult, a person with hypodontia usually has one to six teeth missing.
About 2% to 8% of the general population have hypodontia, excluding wisdom teeth. Hypodontia is a type of dental agenesis, which means it’s a condition that people are born with.
Symptoms of Hypodontia
The most evident symptom of hypodontia is having one to six teeth missing, excluding wisdom teeth. People with hypodontia usually have spaces and gaps between their teeth, and their existing teeth usually have a peg shape.
Hypodontia can also be associated with certain genetic disorders. Some people with hypodontia can develop symptoms of ectodermal dysplasias. Some of these symptoms include:
- Poor hearing
- Nail abnormalities
- Poor vision
- Thinning hair
- Lack of sweat glands
Causes of Hypodontia
Hypodontia is caused by an abnormality affecting the dental lamina. The dental lamina is a band of tissue found under your gums. It is where the teeth are formed. This abnormality causes the distorted growth of teeth. Family history is the major cause of the abnormality, but there are other causes too.
Hypodontia Treatment in Hermitage, TN
We invite you to visit our dental office for treatments that can help with hypodontia:
- Dental bridges
- Dental implants
- Partial dentures
- Braces or other types of orthodontics.
Children with hypodontia need to wear braces until they are old enough to undergo another treatment. Our team of dental professionals can help you learn more about hypodontia and how it can be properly treated.
Hyperdontia and Hypodontia Treatment in Hermitage, TN
Treating your hyperdontia and hypodontia in Old Hickory, TN isn’t something you need to worry about. At Dental Bliss Hermitage, we’re here to guide you through the symptoms, causes, and treatment methods to help get rid of hyperdontia and hypodontia in our patients so that they can get back to their lives without stress or discomfort.
We encourage you to book an appointment with us today to take care of our hyperdontia and hypodontia conditions quickly and efficiently!
