HALF A YEAR AGO GUCCI CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alessandro Michele presented a line of lipsticks “for daring, bright and beautiful.” The brand deliberately went against the far-fetched stereotypes about the perfect smile: punk singer Dani Miller starred in the advertising campaign, who does not have two front teeth due to congenital adentia. We figure out why it occurs, why it can be dangerous and what to do with it.

Why the tooth does not grow

Congenital adentia, when one or more teeth are missing, occurs in about every tenth person. Because of it, from the very beginning, the rudiment of a tooth, milk or permanent, is not formed. Sometimes it accompanies other congenital disorders, but it may not be related to general health. To date, scientists have found several genes, mutations in which are associated with adentia. The condition can also be inherited – its probability in a child is higher if one of the parents, brothers or sisters has adentia.

Congenital adentia is explained by evolution. When studying the skulls of our ancient ancestors – from fifteen thousand years ago to the Middle Ages – it turned out that their dentition was much smoother than ours. Now, 50–70% of people have crowded teeth, difficulties with teething (most often wisdom teeth, which literally do not have enough space) or edentulousness itself. Apparently , due to the transition to softer food, the size of the jaws decreased, and the teeth did not have time to shrink at the same rate. Genetics solved the problem of lack of space radically – simply by reducing the number of teeth in different people.

Can adentia harm

In her interviews, Dani Miller said that as a child she was teased and she even began treatment – it was planned to put implants in place of the missing teeth . But it didn’t work out quickly , and then Miller realized that the haters from her life would not disappear anyway . She accepted her smile and loved it: “It’s time to free yourself from the pressure of traditional views of beauty and perfection. Your features give you strength and beauty. ” Accepting oneself with aesthetics or not is everyone’s personal business, but it is important to know that it is not always about aesthetics.

If a tooth is missing for any reason – it never existed, it is there, but has not erupted or it was removed – the empty space will begin to fill. The adjacent teeth tilt towards the gap, and the tooth of the opposite jaw begins to protrude – this is called the Popov-Godon phenomenon. The distribution of the load on the jaw changes , it deforms, the structure of the bone tissue is destroyed. All this leads to deterioration of hygiene and dental diseases – caries and parondotitis, because there are more places for bacteria to accumulate. Adentia can affect the appearance of the face or cause joint pain . It’s not just about adults: in children, temporary teeth hold space in the jaw, preparing it for the eruption of permanent ones. If one or more teeth are missing, it is very likely that during their change there will be difficulties with teething or occlusion, so it is important to contact an orthodontist in time .

The absence of second incisors, like Dani Miller’s, is one of the most common types of congenital adentia. As the orthodontist Tatiana Tomchuk explains, the load on the two remaining incisors, for example, when biting off food, doubles. Whether negative effects will manifest themselves depends on many factors, from general health to dental care : someone may see adverse effects as early as thirty, and someone will not be bothered by anything until old age. Another common option is wisdom teeth adentia; this is usually not dangerous and even helps the rest of the teeth fit into the jaw. In dental textbooks, for a long time, not thirty-two teeth have been called the norm , but any number of them from twenty-eight, implying the optional presence of “eights”.

What do they do about it

Edentulous and related to her the difficulties involved in the first orthodontist, but to the healing process can be connected to other dental specialties: surgeons, orthopedists, internists. When in place of the missing tooth others have not tilted or moved forward, you can simply replace it with an implant. However, this usually requires preparation – with the help of braces, adjacent teeth are pushed apart and aligned, freeing up space.

Another option is to close the gaps with bridges, which are cheaper and easier than implantation. Modern bridges do not require such aggressive turning as before, and can be held not on crowns that completely cover adjacent teeth, but on thin retaining plates. True, from the point of view of physiology, this is not the best way: if the implant, like a healthy tooth, transfers the load to the jaw bone tissue, then the bridge distributes it over two adjacent teeth.

It often happens that not only a tooth is missing , but also its intended place – that is, the length of the jaw will not allow placing an implant or prosthesis. Then, if there is a need for it, orthodontic treatment is performed. After that, if it is necessary to change the shape of the teeth, different methods are used, from restoration with filling materials to ceramic veneers. The latter option is more expensive, but does not require correction or replacement