Adentium

The term "adentia" means full or partial absence of teeth. And although the unusual name often puzzles, the problem itself is not such a rarity.

Moreover, some scientists argue that a modern person does not need the number of teeth that was vital for his ancestors, therefore, adentia is not an accidental pathology, but the result of an evolution that has taken care that "extra" teeth simply do not appear.

But what, after all, leads to such unpleasant and unaesthetic consequences as the loss of teeth?

Reasons for the adentium

Although, in general, adentia has not been studied enough, it is commonly believed that its cause is the resorption of the follicle. The reason for this, according to scientists, a number of factors: inflammatory processes, common diseases, hereditary predisposition.

Deviations in the formation of teeth rudiments, in addition, arise due to diseases of the endocrine system. Parents also need to carefully monitor the health of their baby teeth, because their diseases, if untimely diagnosis and unfair treatment, can lead to extremely negative consequences, including the loss of permanent teeth. However, in adults, various diseases of the oral cavity (caries, periodontitis, periodontitis) cause adentia. To the same deplorable results lead and injuries.

Symptoms of the adentium

The signs of this disease are quite obvious. A person may lack all or some of the teeth, there may be gaps between the teeth, a twisted bite, uneven teeth, wrinkles in the mouth. Due to the loss of one or more front teeth in the upper jaw, the upper lip may fall, and because of the absence of the lateral teeth, lips and cheeks. There may be problems with the diction.

Any of these symptoms should be treated with attention, because even the most insignificant of them can subsequently cause serious problems. For example, the inflammation of the gums arises from the banal loss of one tooth only. This same, at first glance, insignificant factor leads to other negative consequences.

Partial adentium

The difference between the partial and full adentia is the degree of prevalence of the disease.

As already mentioned above, partial adentia means the absence or loss of several teeth. Along with caries, periodontitis and periodontitis, it is one of the most common diseases of the oral cavity. They suffer about two-thirds of the world's population. But, unfortunately, it is because of the fact that, at first glance, the problem is insignificant, many people often do not pay special attention to the absence of one or two teeth. But the absence of incisors, fangs leads to tangible problems with speech, bite of food, extremely unpleasant for the patient and for the surrounding ones by the sprinkling of saliva, the absence of the same chewing teeth - to the violation of the act of chewing.

Full adentium

The complete absence of teeth is the meaning of this term. Severe psychological pressure from this pathology is accompanied by more significant difficulties. The patient cardinally changes the speech and the shape of the face, around the mouth appears a network of deep wrinkles. Thin bone is thinner due to lack of necessary load. Changes, of course, affect the most significant way and diet, because patients have to give up solid food, and digestion. As a result, there are health problems, because the body lacks vitamins.

There is also the concept of "relative complete adentia," which means that the patient's mouth still has teeth, but they are so destroyed that they are only to be removed.

Primary adentium

Depending on the nature of the occurrence, the primary, or congenital, secondary, or acquired adentia are distinguished.

The primary adentia is called congenital absence of the follicle. It is caused by a violation of the development of the fetus or heredity. In the case of a full primary adentia, the teeth do not erupt at all, while the partial implied the absence of the rudiments of only certain permanent teeth. Complete primary adentia is often accompanied by severe changes in the facial skeleton and impaired functioning of the oral mucosa. Initially, partial primary adentia is a threat for the milk teeth. It is interesting that in this case the rudiments of the teeth are not visible even on the x-ray, and large gaps appear between the already erupting teeth. This adentia also includes disturbances arising in the process of teething, which leads to the formation of an unsharpened tooth hidden in the jawbone or covered with a gum.

Separately, we should say a few words about the congenital adentia of the lateral incisors. The problem is quite common, all the complexity lies in its specificity and complexity of treatment. The solution is to keep a place for the tooth in the dentition, if it exists, or in its creation, if it is absent. To this end, resort to special therapy, and at a later age, bridges are used or implants are implanted. Modern achievements in the field of orthodontics even allow you to replace the missing lateral incisors with existing teeth, but this method has certain age limitations.

Secondary Adentium

Acquired pathology, which occurs due to complete or partial loss of teeth or their rudiments, is called a secondary adentia. This disease harms both dairy and permanent teeth. The most common cause is caries and its complications (for example, periodontitis and pulpitis), as well as periodontitis. Often, a tooth loss leads to incorrect or untimely treatment, as a result of which inflammation processes usually occur. Another reason is injuries to the teeth and jaws. Unlike the primary, secondary adentia is a fairly common phenomenon.

Because of the complete secondary adentia in the mouth, the patient has no teeth at all, which is most significantly reflected in its appearance - up to the change in the shape of the skeleton of the face. The chewing function is broken, even biting and chewing food becomes very difficult. Diction worsens. All this, of course, leads to serious problems in social life, which, in the final analysis, negatively affects the patient's mental health.

This adentium is rare, and most often it is caused by an accident (various injuries) or age changes, as, as is well known, tooth loss is the most common problem for the elderly.

Partial secondary adentia, of course, does not poison the lives of patients as much as full. But this is the most common kind of adentium, and people tend to underestimate it. After all, because of the loss of even one tooth, there may be a shift in the already formed dentition. Teeth begin to disperse, and during the chewing process, the load on them increases. In the same place, where the tooth is absent, insufficient loading causes bone tissue depletion. Negative consequences of this pathology is also for tooth enamel - hard tooth tissues are erased, and the patient has to limit himself in choosing food, because hot and cold food starts to cause him a very painful sensation. The reason for partial secondary adentia, most often, is neglected caries and periodontal diseases.

Adentia of teeth in children

Separately, we should talk about adentia in children, including the treatment of this disease. Often, such an adentia is caused by a disruption of the endocrine system (with the child apparently looks completely healthy) or an infectious disease.

Parents should remember that optimally up to three years the child should grow twenty milk teeth, and in three or four years the process of their replacement with permanent teeth begins. Therefore, if deviations from the norm are noticeable, dairy or permanent teeth do not erupt in time, it is necessary to consult a dentist. With the help of an X-ray it will be possible to establish for certain whether there are rudiments of the tooth in the gum. If the result is positive, the doctor will prescribe a course of treatment aimed at dentition of the tooth, or, in extreme cases, resort to the dissection of the gum or special braces that stimulate eruption. If the rudiment of the tooth in the gum is not found, it will be necessary to retain the milk tooth or install the implant to compensate for the gap formed in the dentition and prevent bite biting. Consider as an option, prosthetics can be done only after a child's eruption of seven permanent teeth.

Prosthetics in identifying the full primary adentia in children can be resorted to not before the child reaches three to four years. But this option is also not a panacea, since the prosthesis exerts a very high pressure on the jaw and can lead to a disruption in its growth, so these children should be regularly observed by a specialist.

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Diagnosis of the adentium

In order to diagnose this pathology, the dentist must first examine the oral cavity, and also determine which particular adentia it is necessary to deal with. Further, as mentioned above, it is necessary to make an x-ray of both the lower and upper jaws, which is especially important if there is a suspicion of a primary adentium, because otherwise one can not find out if the follicles are missing. When examining children is recommended a method of panoramic radiography, which provides additional information about the structure of the roots of the teeth and bone tissue of the jaw.

Diagnosis should be carried out very carefully, because even before the prosthesis it is important to establish whether there are adverse factors. For example, whether the patient suffers from any diseases of the oral mucosa or inflammatory processes, whether unremoved roots, covered by the mucous membrane, etc. Are preserved, etc. If such factors are found, they must be disposed of before the beginning of the prosthesis.

Adentium treatment

It is quite obvious that this disease, by virtue of its specificity, suggests that the main method of treatment will be orthopedic treatment.

In the case of partial adentia, prosthetics is the solution to the problem, and it is better to give preference to dental implants, because, unlike removable and non-removable bridges, they perfectly distribute the load on the bone and do not harm neighboring teeth. Of course, applying the method of prosthetics is easier if there is only one tooth missing. It is more difficult to compensate for the lack of several teeth or to install prostheses in case of malocclusion. Then you have to resort to the use of orthopedic structures.

However, in the case of secondary adentia, doctors do not always have to apply prosthetics - if the teeth are evenly distributed and the patient's jaw can be evenly balanced, one tooth can be removed.

Its specificity is prosthetics of teeth with complete adentia. The primary tasks for a specialist are restoration of the functionality of the dentoalveolar system, prevention of the development of pathologies and complications and, last but not least, prosthetics. Speech in this case is exclusively about prostheses of the false jaw - removable (lamellar) or non-removable. The first can be used to treat secondary full adentia, they generally are very suitable for older people, although they require care: they must be taken off at bedtime and cleaned constantly. They are easily fixed on the gums. Such prostheses are cheap, aesthetic, but they also have drawbacks: they are not always well fixed, cause certain inconveniences, change speech, lead to atrophy of bone tissue. In addition, it is often clear that these are not real teeth.

The installation of non-removable dentures with full adentia requires preliminary implantation of teeth in bone tissue, so that the implanted teeth serve as a kind of support for them. Advantages of implants are comfort, excellent fixation, restoration of bone tissue, aesthetic appearance, durability.

In general, the method of prosthetics is very successful, but nevertheless it is necessary to remember a number of factors that can lead to complications. Among them: 

• atrophy of the jaws (disrupts the normal fixation of the prosthesis); 
• inflammatory processes; 
• The presence of an allergic reaction to dental prosthetic materials, in particular the polymer.

Prevention of adentium

Prevention of adentia in childhood is a regular observation at the dentist, stimulation of teething and prevention of deformation of the dentition.

However, adults should take a hike to the doctor with all seriousness. It is neglected caries or not properly cured parondontal diseases lead to tooth loss. Therefore, you must visit the dentist regularly, once a year, and preferably in half a year. The necessary attention should be paid to oral hygiene.

All these measures, like timely treatment, will help prevent tooth loss, and if the fact of adentium is already fixed, then reduce the loss of teeth to a minimum.

Forecast of the adentium

Of course, adentia is an extremely difficult and unpleasant disease. But, despite all sorts of complications and the obvious complexity of her treatment, the forecast in most cases will be favorable. This is equally true for both partial and complete adentium. Timely and professional treatment (first of all, we are talking about the installation of dentures) will allow the patient to return to the usual, full-fledged way of life, get rid of psychological discomfort, pain and digestion problems, accompanying adentia, and calmly communicate with other people.