On occasion we have met someone who lacks a tooth and this lack has not been caused by an early exfoliation or exodontia. This absence of dental pieces is naturally known as dental agenesis.
The dentition of an adult person is composed of 32 pieces while that of the children has a total of 20 teeth. When there is an absence of formation or development of a dental piece, these figures are diminished. This phenomenon is known as «dental agenesia». Normally, dental agenesis occurs at early ages or during adolescence. They are clearly identified when we perform panoramic radiographs and observe that one or more pieces are missing. The absence of teeth can occur in both deciduous and definitive dentitions. Not always that it is in a deciduous dentition has to occur in definitive dentitions.
Dental agenesis has a certain frequency in certain dental groups. The most frequent occur in third molars, better known as wisdom teeth or wisdom teeth. These agenesias are unimportant. In many occasions these pieces have to be exodonciadas by diverse reasons being not necessary its later replacement. Conversely, when agenesis occurs in the incisors or premolars this can be a problem. In these cases its replacement is necessary to have an adequate occlusion.
If we seek an explanation to the origin you can find this phenomenon in an evolutionary explanation combined with more refined eating habits. This is because food is increasingly processed. Each time the maxillary arches require less power and fewer teeth that do a great job. This has led to morphogenetic changes that have led to a decrease in the dental arch and the dimensions of the jaws. Each time they contain less pieces and hence the spontaneous disappearance of some relatively «unnecessary for effective chewing».
The treatment of dental agenesis goes through several phases.
If the agenesis corresponds to a piece that is part of the final dentition, we try to keep the milk tooth in the mouth as long as possible. It only if its predecessor is found deciduous. This is until this by its condition fails, must be removed or fall by itself, making necessary the replacement of the missing piece by implants or some other prosthetic system.
For this it is important to identify the cases in which there is no dental replacement, since the mistake of exodonting a milk tooth can be incurred to facilitate the eruption of the definitive tooth, without there being a definitive one to wait for. This fact can cause an alteration in the position of the rest of the teeth, the dental space or even in the chewing function. This would greatly complicate the resolution of the problem.
There are some cases in which extensive agenesis or even anodontia are given (absence of all teeth). These are less frequent and are usually linked to people who manifest complex syndromes. If this is the case from an early age, these subjects are carriers of prostheses that replace the absences. This is to give the best possible chewing and phoning function, as well as aesthetics to correct altered facial patterns.
From SJD Dentistas we hope that this blog will clarify all your doubts about this issue. Whenever you are faced with a decision to suspect this process, or you need to perform an extraction of a deciduous tooth, you should take the precaution of asking the doctor on duty to check and verify the teeth and their replacements. All this through the realization of a panoramic radiography that of a clear idea of everything related to the oral cavity of the patient.