Anodontia: Understanding the Congenital Absence of Teeth

Anodontia: Understanding the Congenital Absence of Teeth

Question: Write a note on anodontia.

Answer. Anodontia is defined as the condition in which there is a congenital absence of teeth in the oral cavity.

Etiology Of Anodontia

The causes of anodontia are:

• Hereditary factor
• Environmental factor
• Familial factor
• Syndrome associated
• Radiation injury to the developing tooth germ.

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Anodontia is of two types:
1. Complete anodontia: There is the congenital absence of all the teeth.
2. Partial anodontia: Congenital absence of one or few teeth.

• Anodontia can also be divided into the following types:
  • True anodontia: It occurs due to the failure of development or formation of tooth in jaw bone.
  • Pseudoanodontia: It refers to the condition in which teeth are present within the jaw bone but are not clinically visible in the mouth, as they have not erupted, e.g. impacted teeth.
  • False anodontia: It is the condition in which teeth are missing in the oral cavity because of their previous extraction.

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Complete anodontia

• It is the condition in which there is neither any deciduous tooth nor any permanent tooth present in the oral cavity.
• It is usually seen in association with hereditary ectodermal dysplasia. A complete anodontia is a common feature of hereditary ectodermal dysplasia however in many cases cuspids are present in this disease.
• Complete anodontia occurs among children those who have received high doses of radiation to the jaws as infants for therapeutic extraction.

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Partial Anodontia

• It is a common phenomenon and is characterized by congenital absence of one or few teeth.
• In partial anodontia any tooth can be congenitally missing.
• Third molars are most frequently observed congenitally missing teeth.
• Mandibular first molar and the mandibular lateral incisor are least likely to be missing.