Teeth: defective development

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What is it about ?

Teeth begin to grow at an early stage of fetal development in the womb, as early as 6 weeks after fertilization. Teeth are formed from special cells in the jaws. As they grow, they rise to the surface until finally appearing in the mouth. In most people, the lower teeth come out a little earlier than the upper teeth. By the age of 6 months, babies usually have their first baby teeth; girls are generally a little earlier than boys. A child who does not yet have a small tooth at the age of 1 and a half (= 18 months) should be monitored more closely.
In childhood, 20 baby teeth are developed, which fall out during growth, usually around the age of 6. In the end, an adult has 32 teeth on average. These teeth are placed before birth, are permanent and can no longer be replaced.
The number of teeth, their size and shape are almost entirely determined by heredity. If the teeth do not develop sufficiently or not at all, we speak respectively of hypodontia or anodontia.

What is their frequency?

A missing tooth is a common occurrence. 25% of the general population is missing one or more wisdom teeth, and 5-10% of us are still missing other teeth. On the other hand, 4% of the population has too many teeth.

How to recognize them?

The abnormalities are often noticed by chance, by the parents or by the ONE, or even by the child when he gets older and looks at himself in the mirror or brushes his teeth. Defects can also be detected during a routine check-up at the dentist.
Poor development can manifest itself in many ways:

  • too many or too few teeth: the absence of a tooth is sometimes noticed from birth. Missing teeth are usually accompanied by the presence of small teeth or peg-shaped teeth. From time to time, children with Down syndrome have one or more missing teeth;
  • Enamel hypoplasia: enamel is the hard, white substance that covers the teeth. In the presence of enamel hypoplasia, the formation of tooth enamel is disturbed and the tooth surface is discolored or has a striped pattern. This is often the result of infection or the use of certain types of antibiotics (tetracyclines) during pregnancy or during the first 7 years of a child’s life. Too much fluoride can also affect tooth enamel, while a lack of fluoride can make the enamel more sensitive to cavities.
  • abnormal teeth shape: slight deformations are common in teeth. The surface of a tooth can thus present some protuberances, which prevent a correct closing of the mouth because the teeth do not fit together perfectly. Sometimes the crowns or roots of neighboring teeth merge together and appear to form a single large tooth. People who have a cleft lip and / or palate may also have missing teeth or have deformed front teeth.

How is the diagnosis made?

A careful examination of the mouth can already provide a lot of information for the dentist. He will sometimes perform a panoramic X-ray (orthopantomogram, OPT or OPG) or a scanner (CT-scan).

What can you do ?

There is nothing you can do about many of these anomalies. But we can give you some tips or rules to follow:

  • tell your doctor that you are (possibly) pregnant if he prescribes an antibiotic;
  • As soon as your child’s small teeth come through, brush them every day. Do not hesitate to ask for some explanations during your ONE consultations.
  • have your teeth checked regularly at the dentist, preferably every six months but at least once a year.
  • Find out about reimbursement for dental care from your mutual insurance company.

What can your dentist do?

There are many problems your dentist can solve already. There are a multitude of technical possibilities for repairing or embellishing a tooth. It will sometimes be necessary to refer you to an orthodontist or a stomatologist. The stomatologist is a doctor who specializes in mouth, jaw and face surgery.

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