Adentia in children and adults. Causes and Treatments

Adentia is perhaps the most unexpected and at the same time unpleasant dental disease. Most people are not even aware of the existence of this disease, but some had to face it first hand. What is this, what are the symptoms and how is this disease treated? There are many questions, each of which has detailed answers.

The concept of adentia

The complete or partial absence of teeth is called adentia. This symptom occurs equally often in both children and adults. The etiology of the onset of the disease is different for everyone, so the symptoms are different. Sometimes the patient is diagnosed with only a partial violation of the dentition.

Often adentia affects only milk teeth. It should be borne in mind that the disease is not always congenital. Improper oral hygiene and the presence of other adverse factors can provoke acquired symptoms.

In order to avoid unpleasant manifestations in yourself and your loved ones, it is better to be fully armed and study the disease in more detail.

Depending on the form of the disease, certain changes in the jaw can be observed.

Complete absence of teeth

This is the most annoying variety. Patients with this diagnosis suffer the most changes. This is definitely a facial deformity. The cheeks in this case are sunken, the skin on them has a stretched, withered appearance. There is premature aging of the skin of the face. Almost always, speech suffers, especially with congenital adentia.

An aggravating factor is difficult meals. The patient cannot eat fully, because it is almost impossible to chew and bite off solid food. As a result, there is a general weakening of the immune system and the whole organism as a whole. In this case, it is also difficult to avoid the development of chronic diseases of the digestive system.

Significantly such a defect affects the psychological state of a person. Patients often, along with adentia, acquire numerous complexes, withdraw into themselves.

Partial absence of teeth

Sometimes one of the jaws or parts of it develop without any abnormalities. Then the adentia is considered partial. The external manifestations of the disease directly depend on the number of missing teeth. Pathology basically also leads to facial deformity, impaired speech and eating. Patients with partial dentition often suffer from malocclusion , cross or deep.

Along with the partial absence of teeth, dentists can detect various displacements, shortening or narrowing of one of the jaws. The temporomandibular joint also suffers pathological changes. Due to the minimum chewing load, the muscles of the mouth are weakened, thinning of the bone tissue occurs.

The absence of one or more teeth practically does not cause any inconvenience to a person, but the body suffers inevitable negative changes. This:

• displacement of the entire dentition;
• violation of intestinal motility;
• load on the gastrointestinal tract;
• mineralization of tooth enamel slows down;
• protein metabolism suffers.

All these factors inevitably lead to the development of pathologies more serious than the absence of a pair of teeth.

Diagnostic methods

The correct diagnosis can only be established by a specialist in the field of clinical examination and a number of studies. To examine children who still do not have teeth due to their age, the dentist uses exclusively tactile methods. The baby's gums are felt for the presence of rudiments of milk teeth. As a rule, an experienced doctor can feel them from a very early age.

In more ambiguous situations, the orthodontist recommends that the child undergo an x-ray examination of the jaw. Panoramic x-ray will give a complete picture of the disease. Here you can consider in detail the structure of the root system of the tooth and the features of the development of the jaw. Visible on the X-ray and the alveolar process.

Features of the diagnosis of secondary (acquired) adentia

In the secondary form of the disease, the examination is not much different from the diagnosis of a congenital malformation of the jaw. Often, a series of laboratory tests is added to the review to establish the cause of tooth loss. Sometimes this is caused by complex chronic diseases that prevent prosthetics from being carried out. Without prosthetics, it is impossible to achieve the expected results of treatment. Contraindications may be:

• benign and malignant neoplasms in the body;
• diseases of the mucous membranes;
• the presence of an inflammatory process in the blood;
• remnants of the roots of the teeth under the mucous membranes.

To start treatment, it is necessary to remove all obstacles, otherwise complications are possible.

Reasons for the development of the disease

It is difficult to isolate the main cause of congenital absence of teeth and their loss in adulthood. Scientists have proven that the hereditary factor plays a significant role in the formation of pathology. For example, underdevelopment of teeth even in the prenatal period.

There is also such a pathology as the embryogenesis of dental tissues, which does not allow the jaw and dentition to form normally. The absence of lateral incisors and molars is called phylogenetic reduction.

Caries, violations of tooth enamel, inflammation of the oral cavity, pulpitis can also lead to complete or partial loss of teeth. Therefore, at the slightest uncharacteristic manifestations in the oral cavity, it is better to immediately contact the orthodontist for a qualified consultation. Any delay in dental health is almost always fraught with consequences.

Varieties of adentia

Primary (congenital) complete edentulous

Pathology is extremely rare and in the circle of specialists is considered a complex genetic disease. In this case, the rudiments of the teeth are completely absent. Accompanied by pathology and other physical manifestations. The facial oval of a child with congenital adentia differs significantly in appearance from the face of a healthy baby. The lower part of the face is reduced, the alveolar processes of the jaw are not fully formed, which is easily visualized. The mucous membranes of such children are pale and dry. The patient can eat only soft or liquid food. Because of the defect, speech does not develop.

Most children with primary edentulous syndrome suffer from the absence of hair on the head, eyebrows and eyelashes. The fontanel of such an infant tightens slowly, and may not narrow at all. The nail plates are either absent or excessively brittle and soft. Therefore, we can say that congenital adentia is a complex of complex genetic defects that are formed during a woman's pregnancy.

Congenital partial disorders of the dentition

It has slightly different symptoms and milder consequences. Occurs during eruption of milk teeth. Some teeth, against all odds, just don't grow. Rudiments are not detected by palpation and x-ray examination.

As a result, gaps are formed between the teeth, which will inevitably lead to a displacement of the entire row. With a large number of missing teeth, underdevelopment of the jaw is diagnosed. With a mixed bite, when the first teeth fall out, and permanent ones grow in their place, a lot of empty places form in the oral cavity. There is a risk of loosening of the supporting teeth and a violation of the protective enamel layer, which leads to many complications. For example, jaw deformity or the appearance of a crossbite .

Acquired complete edentulous

There is a complete absence of teeth in both jaws. They can be both dairy and permanent. There is the concept of secondary childhood adentia, when the teeth grow normally, but eventually fall out for some reason.

Common causes of the acquired form of the disease can be:

• dropping out;
• removal due to caries, which is not treatable;
• periodontitis;
• removal for surgical reasons, such as oncology.

Over time, the alveolar processes atrophy, the lower jaw tightly adjoins the nose. The main symptom of the initial stage of secondary adentia is the erasure of tooth tissues. Because of this, the patient feels discomfort when the jaw is tightly closed.

Secondary partial

The most common type of pathology. Most people at different ages have experienced it. This may be the removal of teeth due to caries or an inflammatory process in the gums. In this case, the alveolar processes continue to function normally. Displacement occurs rarely and depends on the time elapsed since the removal of adjacent teeth.

It rarely happens that with a mixed bite, a shift of the row occurs. Then there is not enough space for the growth of a permanent tooth. Therefore, parents should pay attention to the delay in eruption, and if necessary, visit a pediatric dentist with the baby.

Treatment of the disease

It is prescribed depending on the type of adentia and other indicators identified during the examination. Most often used:

• prosthetics with crowns or inlays;
• the use of implants;
• installation of bridges;
• the introduction of a removable or non-removable prosthesis.

Prosthetics are carried out equally often, both with the use of removable and non-removable prostheses. For children, the first option is more suitable. The jaw undergoes age-related changes, and in the future, a fixed prosthesis can be deformed or displaced, which is highly undesirable.

All prostheses, regardless of the material of manufacture, are made on the basis of a cast made in advance. This is required so that it fits perfectly to the patient's jaw, does not cause discomfort.

Many parents refuse to carry out prosthetics for their children. This is a wrong perception. Even temporary removable dentures can restore the aesthetics of the dentition. The child can fully eat, develop chewing function.

With acquired partial adentia, dentists decide on artistic restoration. This method allows you to restore the integrity of the dentition with minimal effort. For this, ceramics and photo composites are used. Depending on the selected material, the service life of the prosthesis is determined.

Implants will help to properly distribute the load on the dentition. This is their advantage over bridges. Features of the installation make them the safest type of treatment in relation to neighboring teeth.

At what age should treatment begin?

Orthodontics recommend starting prosthetics with complete congenital adentia from the age of three. Just at this age, the baby's body is much stronger, and the disease can be diagnosed most accurately. The dentist should pay special attention to the shape of the prosthesis, as an ill-fitting one can provoke a delay in the development of the jaw.

You should not save on the material of prostheses. This directly affects their lifespan. Although the process of their installation is painless due to the use of anesthetics, it is still not the most pleasant. Especially for children.

Adentia is a complex and very unpleasant disease. But, it is not hopeless. Each patient can count on a positive outcome of treatment with a timely visit to the clinic. Treatment can hardly be called cheap, however, the result will help solve not only physiological, but also psychological problems. After visiting the clinic, a person who previously suffered from complete or partial absence of teeth will soon be able to return to everyday life.

Thanks to a wide range of treatment methods, any patient will find the best way to get rid of such a nuisance.