Normally, a baby grows 20 milk teeth, then 32 permanent teeth appear in their place, including eights. But sometimes more teeth erupt. Such an anomaly is called hyperdontia and polyodontia, and the extra dental units themselves are called supernumerary. A supernumerary tooth differs from the rest in shape and position in the oral cavity.
Danger of this pathology
As a rule, extra units grow outside the dentition, which affects the appearance of a person. They are especially visible when smiling or communicating. In some cases, even with a closed mouth, a person has protruding lips or a protruding jaw that does not close. In the presence of supernumerary teeth, lisping and speech problems appear.
Also, hyperdontia affects the formation of bite. After all, with such a pathology, there are difficulties with chewing and biting off food, in addition, there is a displacement of the molars. Due to the extra dental elements, there are problems with the implementation of constant hygiene procedures in the oral cavity. And without proper care, various diseases of the oral cavity appear.
Quite often, damage to supernumerary teeth is exposed to the mucosa, which leads to inflammatoryprocesses in the oral cavity. Due to the crowding of dental units in a person, the dentition is formed incorrectly and the bite is disturbed.
Supernumerary teeth: causes of occurrence
The exact cause of this anomaly is still unknown. However, scientists suggest that polyodontia occurs as a result of splitting of the tooth germ or as an atavism.
The appearance of extra bone formations in the mouth is explained by the fact that the dental system is trying to return to the original number of units that were laid down by nature. Our ancestors had 6 incisors on the upper and lower jaws. That is why many doctors are inclined to believe that hyperdontia in some people is nothing more than an atavism.
According to another hypothesis, extra dental units appear when the tooth germs are split. Hyperdontia in this case appears due to a violation of the development of the jaws of the unborn baby in the embryonic period. A supernumerary tooth may also appear due to poor ecology, viral infections, the use of drugs and alcohol by the expectant mother, illegal drugs during pregnancy, and other factors.
The reasons for this anomaly, scientists continue to investigate. They cannot accurately explain the development of polyodontia, but most of them lean towards the second hypothesis.
Many people with hyperdontia have only one extra tooth, but in 25% of cases there are several such elements at once, most often located in the dentition. At the same time, approximately every fifth person with thispathology reveals a supernumerary impacted tooth.
Varieties of hyperdontia
This anomaly is classified into species according to several criteria. Allocate hyperdontia:
- Atypical. Supernumerary units appear outside the alveolar sockets, the dentition, and sometimes even outside the oral cavity.
- False. The development of polyodontia is associated with the eruption of fused or double bone formations, as well as with a delay in the loss of milk teeth.
- True. The formation of supernumerary indigenous units is observed.
- Atavistic (typical). Additional dental elements are located within the dentition.
Main symptoms of polyodontia
Eruption of supernumerary units can have different signs in children and adults. For example, some babies are already born with such teeth. It becomes very difficult to feed them, as they injure the nipple during breastfeeding.
When a supernumerary tooth grows in an older child, symptoms such as:
- appearance of pain at the site of eruption;
- temperature increase;
- in rare cases - indigestion;
- edema of the upper respiratory tract;
- drooling.
The most difficult thing to endure is the eruption of extra dental elements in the upper palate. When the baby begins to talk, polyodontia has a bad effect on the pronunciation of sounds. On top of that, the tongue and mucous cavities are constantly injured.mouth, which provokes the development of inflammatory processes.
How to relieve the unpleasant symptoms of teething?
This is true for young children, since adults in most cases do not feel any discomfort when additional dental elements appear in the mouth. Since a supernumerary tooth erupts with the same symptoms as a milk tooth, the treatment of possible complications will be the same.
If a child has a high fever during teething, you should give him "Ibuprofen" or "Paracetamol" in the form of a suspension for oral administration. These medications help not only reduce fever, but also eliminate pain, as well as symptoms of inflammation of the soft tissues of the palate or gums.
It is also recommended to use local agents with an anesthetic effect in the form of an ointment or gel when eruption of a supernumerary tooth: Solcoseryl, Dentinox and Kalgel. They have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
Children over 2 years old are allowed to be treated with alternative medicine: bee products (propolis and honey), decoctions of medicinal herbs (calendula, chamomile, lemon balm). It is also recommended to rinse your mouth with solutions made according to folk recipes. They relieve discomfort and prevent the development of inflammation. But before such treatment, it is necessary to consult a dentist.
Sometimes a supernumerary temporary tooth eruptsonly partially, and part of its crown remains in the tissues of the jaw. To make this germ grow, a special massage, vibration or electrical stimulation is performed.
Diagnostic measures
To detect an excess number of teeth in the oral cavity, the dentist only needs to perform a visual examination and listen to the person's complaints. But if the supernumerary unit did not erupt, the specialist conducts x-rays to fully study the picture. This study allows you to visualize all dental elements, even supernumerary ones, and also to find out the features of their location.
If it is necessary to study the problem area in different planes, as well as to detect inflammatory processes, the specialist conducts additional diagnostics using computed tomography.
Elimination of pathology
The treatment of hyperdontia depends on many factors - the inclination and location of the supernumerary tooth, the degree of disturbance that it provokes, as well as the period of bite formation.
Removal of a supernumerary tooth is performed in the following situations:
- An extra unit erupts in place of the molars.
- Additional bone formation caused the formation of bite pathologies, both deep and open.
- Supernumerary dental elements are impacted and there is no chance of their eruption (distal, medial, vestibular or palatal tilt).
By the way, quite often the extraction of an extra tooth alone happensnot enough. To restore the integrity of the dentition, resort to the use of orthodontic appliances.
Removal of an impacted supernumerary tooth
Extraction of an extra tooth unit is a surgical procedure, therefore, it is carried out only in a dental clinic. Before performing this procedure, it is not recommended to consume anticoagulants and alcoholic beverages. The day before the removal of an extra unit, the doctor carefully analyzes the results of computed tomography or radiography.
Anesthesia when removing a supernumerary tooth
This procedure is very painful, so the patient is given anesthesia. Anesthesia is selected based on the volume of surgical intervention, the general condition of the patient and his age.
When a supernumerary tooth is removed from a child not older than 10 years old, it is preferable to do general anesthesia, especially in case of traumatic intervention. In the event that a person has nervous disorders, diseases of the cardiovascular system, it is imperative that the extraction of an unnecessary dental unit is carried out in the clinic under general anesthesia. Local anesthesia is indicated for children from 10-12 years old, and even in cases where the operation is not too complicated.
Before removing a supernumerary tooth, the dentist first of all makes an incision in the area of its location. As a result, detachment of the mucoperiosteal flap occurs. The dentist then performs the removal of the unwanted toothunits.
The void that occurs after extraction, the dentist, if necessary, fills with bone artificial material. Then he puts the detached flap in place and carefully sews everything up.
The patient returns home the same day. Of course, within a few weeks he will have to be observed by a specialist. To avoid postoperative complications, an antibiotic is prescribed. To speed up the healing of the hole, it is recommended to rinse the mouth with antiseptics, for example, chamomile decoction or furatsilin.
