You may have heard about hyperdontia, a fascinating tooth disorder. If you are wondering what hyperdontia is, how to recognize the symptoms, why it happens, how to diagnose and treat it, and when managing extra teeth becomes crucial, you have arrived at the correct location.
In your life, you have two sets of teeth. You have 20 primary or baby teeth when you are a child. When these teeth fall out, they get replaced with 32 adult or permanent teeth. However, some people develop more than 32 teeth. This condition is called hypodontia. Some patients in Omaha visit have extra teeth and visit the dentist to manage them. If you are one of them, contact family dentistry in Omaha, NE.
What to do if you suffer from Hyperdontia?
Up to 3.8% of the population has one or more extra (supernumerary) teeth. Both visible (erupted) and impacted (not shattered through the gums) teeth are possible.
Hyperdontia in children may go unnoticed. Extra baby teeth usually line up with the rest of the teeth, which seem normal, and erupt at regular intervals.
Your mouth may grow extra teeth anywhere:
- Mesiodens: The maxillary incisors are the extra teeth that erupt behind the two front teeth. They are the most common form of extra teeth.
- Paramolars: These grow adjacent to your molars.
- Distomolars: These develop in tandem with the remaining molars in your mouth.
There are several shapes that an extra tooth can take:
- Conical: This tooth is tiny and shaped like a cone. This type of tooth often surrounds your front teeth.
- Tuberculate: This tooth has a barrel shape, rarely comes out of the gums, and usually occurs in pairs.
- Supplemental: This usually occurs at the end of a row of teeth and has a shape identical to a traditional tooth.
- Odontoma: This occurs when dental tissue has grown weirdly.
What are the signs of Hyperdontia?
The growth of extra teeth, which often erupt next to your natural baby or adult teeth, is an early sign of hypodontia. This usually happens in adults, and it involves recognizing these extra teeth by their different shapes and positions within the mouth.
In hyperdontia, extra teeth can take various shapes, such as:
- Additional: These teeth mimic the teeth next to them.
- Tuberculous: These teeth are barrel-shaped or tube-shaped.
- A complex odontoma: It is a tooth composed of numerous tiny growths that resemble teeth that are grouped together.
- Compound odontoma: A region of tissue with tooth-like characteristics develops in place of a single tooth.
- Cone-shaped teeth: Teeth that have a cone shape taper toward the tip from a broader base.
What causes Hyperdontia?
The exact cause of hyperdontia is unknown to experts. However, you might have several extra teeth if you suffer from conditions like:
-
Gardner syndrome
This is a genetic condition that raises your risk of developing malignancies. For instance, Gardner syndrome patients are at a higher risk of developing colon cancer at a young age.
-
Fabry Disease
Your body cannot produce an enzyme to break down fats if you have this rare illness. This condition leads to rashes, stomach pain, inability to sweat, and severe burning aches in your hands and feet.
-
Cleidocranial disorders
This is a very rare disorder that causes abnormalities in your bones, mainly your skull and collarbone, and it runs in families.
- How can one treat hyperdontia?
Treatment for hyperdontia may not be necessary in some cases, but in others, the excess teeth may need to be surgically removed. Your dentist might suggest getting extra teeth extracted if:
- Your extra teeth make eating uncomfortable, or you have problems chewing food properly.
- You feel pain or discomfort as a result of overcrowding triggered by the extra teeth.
- Too many teeth increase the risk of gum disease and dental decay because they make it difficult to clean and floss properly.
