In dentistry, there are cases of the absence of some teeth in a patient. They may be partially or completely lacking due to loss or due to improper development of the dentofacial system. This condition is called Adentia. The doctor evaluates the primary signs during a visual examination. The exact diagnosis is confirmed by radiography or orthopantomography. Treatment is carried out exclusively with prosthetics: the patient is made removable prostheses to replace the missing units, or dental implantation is performed.
Complete adentia in the form of a congenital anomaly is extremely rare. More often, the disease is caused by age-related changes in the body, diseases and natural processes that cause tooth loss. In addition to the aesthetic component, such an ailment entails a violation of the digestive tract, defects in diction and articulation, and deformation of the facial skeleton may develop.
Disease classification
Adentia manifests itself as a complete or partial absence of teeth, is diagnosed at different ages and for various reasons, it is these parameters that are paramount in the classification, which distinguishes two types of disease:- Primary adentia
- Secondary lack of teeth
Partial and full adentia are classified by counting the number of missing dental units. If up to 10 units are missing, then a partial adentia is diagnosed. In this case, most often the third molars, the second premolar and the upper incisors are not counted. If more than 10 units are not enough before the norm, the disease is considered as a multiple manifestation of the pathology. Secondary partial adentia is a violation of the continuity of the dentition with the absence of 1 to 15 units. Orthopedic dentistry studies the disease and applies the Kennedy classification in practice, which divides the 4 classes of defects that manifest partial adentia.
- There are no chewing teeth on either side of the jaw.
- One distal support (one-sided defect) is lost.
- Defect on the one hand, distal support is present.
- Lack of front units (frontal defect).
If there is a manifestation of signs from different classes, the disease is diagnosed by the smaller of the observed classes. In addition, there are subspecies of the disease, as well a