Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

Are you absolutely certain that you do not retain baby teeth? How about a young-adult friend or relative without a solid history of dental care?  Although adults retaining baby teeth is a rare occurrence,  there are serious health risks that we think you will want to know about.
 
Adults with baby teeth suffer from a genetic defect.  A story is a great way to make a point.  Here’s the story of a 28-year old English woman who only recently shed her baby teeth.  After 28 years, Emily Cheesman, an English woman from Kent discovered she still retained baby teeth. Unfortunate for her,  she was late in attaining the diagnosis of  Hypodontia, the disease  associated with baby teeth  in adults.  that defines this condition. Hypodontia can occur for several reasons including genetic, hormonal, environmental, and infectious causes.

Ms. Cheeseman  had to undergo extensive dental work to remove her baby teeth. Vanity was not her biggest concern regarding the smile she had; she was concerned about the future health and well-being of her mouth. The process was time consuming and involved several different dental treatments. After a dental examination, Cheeseman first had to undergo tooth extraction. After the teeth were removed, her gums were worked on to help prepare her mouth for permanent dental implants. Additionally, she had to undergo orthodontic treatment to get her teeth perfectly aligned in preparation of her new smile.

Although the condition at the surface may seem totally cosmetic in nature, medical research  is proving otherwise. A study conducted by the University of Kentucky has found that the condition is linked to cases of ovarian cancer. The research results, published in the Journal of the American Dental Association found that 20 in 100 ovarian cancer patients were afflicted with the disease.

This is a call for any of you with the acquaintance of a young adult who you suspect of having little to no pediatric dental care to be seen by a dentist as soon as possible.  Although this condition is easily diagnosed by routine dental x-rays, there are young-adult Americans throughout our land who have never been dentally x-rayed.  If  there is someone like that in your life, Hypodontia risk is just one of many reasons to get them to a dentist.