How Hyperdontia Can Affect Your New Year’s Smile

The majority of people are born with 20 primary teeth and eventually develop 32 healthy adult teeth. However, there are some who suffer from hyperdontia, a condition in which a person develops more teeth than the mouth allows for. These extra teeth can grow anywhere that teeth attach to the jaw and typically don’t show any painful symptoms. If not removed, hyperdontia can cause the extra teeth in your mouth to displace or crowd other teeth, which can interfere with your bite and cause speech impediments. Find out why hyperdontia occurs and what options are available for you to treat this problem with this guide!

What Is Hyperdontia?

The mouth is a very complex part of the body, and it’s essential for chewing, eating and speaking. All of this is achieved in due part to the permanent teeth that we develop as we age, but some people are born with extra teeth that interfere with this process. This condition is called hyperdontia, or supernumerary teeth, and it can be a difficult experience for many as it disrupts teeth alignment and pain. Hyperdontia typically causes impacted teeth, where a tooth doesn’t grow in straight, and it often affects one’s bite. Hyperdontia also causes crowding of the teeth, which increases your likelihood of developing tooth decay as it becomes difficult to clean them. Primary teeth can also be blocked by these teeth and grow in improperly, which can take a lot of time and money to fix. In severe cases, hyperdontia can even cause tumors and cysts to develop, which will require professional help to successfully treat. In most cases, however, patients don’t even realize that they have extra teeth in their mouths until an oral exam is performed or X-rays are conducted. This normally occurs whenever there is only one or two supernumerary teeth in the mouth, but as more extra teeth begin to appear, they become nearly impossible to ignore. No matter how many extra teeth you may have, there are ways to treat the problems they are causing until your oral health is back to where it should be.

Treating Your Extra Teeth

Treating supernumerary teeth will depend on one’s specific situation, but many treatments revolve around tooth extractions and orthodontic care. Hyperdontia typically occurs next to your top front teeth, which causes cosmetic and orthodontic concerns. While you’re waiting for treatment, one of the best things that you can do is maintain a good oral hygiene routine to prevent tooth decay from forming. Since extra teeth mess up the teeth around them, it makes it extremely difficult to properly clean them and plaque can easily build up. Brushing and flossing around each tooth, including supernumerary ones, will keep decay down and help you avoid more extensive dental treatment that will be required if your oral health gets to this point. It is always best practice to treat hyperdontia during childhood before it can cause problems with permanent teeth that are growing in. Early treatment also helps prevent the need for invasive surgical procedures that can be expensive and cause long recovery times. In some cases, however, oral surgery will be necessary if the extra tooth (or teeth) are deep within the gums or are seriously disrupting the alignment and growth of other teeth. In most cases, though, a simple tooth extraction will be enough to eliminate your problems and allow your teeth the room they need to function properly.

How To Keep Your Oral Health On Track

Once your hyperdontia is remedied, it’s of utmost importance that you stay on top of your oral health to keep teeth healthy now and for many years to come. This means that brushing, flossing and using a mouthrinse will become the most important parts of your home oral hygiene routine, no matter how busy you may be. When brushing, scrub at a 45-degree angle and brush the outer, inner and chewing surfaces of your teeth. Use gentle back-and-forth strokes, and don’t forget to scrub your tongue to kill bacteria and maintain fresh breath. When flossing, curve the floss in a C-shape along the gumline and around each tooth as you move in an up-and-down motion. Don’t push too hard on the floss or you’ll risk damaging your gums, but put enough pressure that you can remove any plaque that may be stuck to your teeth. For your mouthrinse, look for one that contains fluoride, which is helpful at preventing cavities, reducing bacteria in the mouth and fending off gum disease. However, always monitor children’s use of fluoride mouthrinse to ensure that they don’t swallow it. And lastly, don’t forget to schedule regular dental checkups to examine your mouth for supernumerary teeth and ascertain what treatments will be needed to keep your teeth in great shape.

Start The New Year Off Right By Correcting Hyperdontia!

At Stonebrook Family Dental, we can help your family start the new year off right by correcting any dental problems that you may be experiencing. Whether you’re struggling with hyperdontia or are due for your next dental checkup, we can help! Call our office at (303) 872-7907 to schedule your next appointment with Dr. Varley and get the smile that you deserve during 2020!