Genetics has a great influence on the overall health of people. Did you know that genetics is also effective on oral and dental conditions and determines how teeth grow, Microdontia refers to teeth that are smaller than normal, which is one of the most common oral health problems that almost every family has one person with this problem.
In adults, the small teeth with the gaps next to them may look like children’s teeth. Too small teeth may not be placed next to other teeth and cause damage to other teeth and look messy. The good news for people with microdontia is that many techniques and treatments have been discovered to restore teeth and improve smiles. In this article, we discuss microdontia and its treatment methods:
What is microdontia?
Micro means small and Dontia means tooth related conditions. Therefore, the word microdontia means having small teeth, and a person with this problem has one or more teeth that are smaller than normal. Dentists call teeth smaller than normal, microdont.
Microdonts can have normal or abnormal morphology. These teeth may have a normal appearance but smaller than normal, or they may have a normal size but a triangular shape. In many cases, these small teeth also have small roots, even if their crowns are close to normal.
Types of microdontia
There are three types of microdontia
1. Local microdontia
As it is clear from the name of this microdontia, only one tooth is affected in this disorder. This usually happens to the lateral anterior teeth or third molars. The reason can be facial hemiatrophy (smallness of one side of the face compared to the other side) or the collision of an extra tooth.
2. Extensive microdontia
This type of microdontia includes all teeth. Among the teeth, only one tooth may be normal and of normal size. This type of microdontia is rare. This type of disease may be due to hypophysis or Down syndrome. It may also be caused by complications of chemotherapy and radiation therapy at a growing age.
3. Relatively general microdontia
This type of microdontia is not real but an illusion. If there are teeth slightly smaller than normal in one of the jaws, the teeth appear small. This condition occurs when a person has inherited the teeth of one jaw from one parent and the teeth of the other jaw from the other parent.
Treatment methods
Dentists will suggest ways to improve after examining your teeth. Some of these ways to improve:
Composites
Based on the color and shape of the patient’s teeth, dentists apply composite on a tooth that is smaller than normal and polish the tooth. The preparation steps of composites are short and after they are prepared, they are glued on the teeth with special materials. The quality of composites is getting better day by day and their color is stable and they are more resistant to staining.
Tooth crown
Veneers are thin shells of the same color as the tooth that are placed in front of the tooth. These veneers are made of high-tech porcelain or ceramic. It may be necessary to shave the tooth to place the crowns on the tooth, but if the tooth is very small, there is no need for this. This method has great beauty and longevity.
