Here is the chitter chatter on teeth deformities
Review caught up with Dr Mmatshepo Motala who currently runs her own practice in the heart of Polokwane to find out more on the main causes of teeth deformities and how to treat these.
POLOKWANE – “Unfortunately, teeth deformities are sometimes hereditary meaning inherited in most families where you find that a generation of family members suffer and have a problem of teeth deformities. However, with the ever-changing technology, such problems can be avoided or even treated when they arise,” she explained.
Although these can be fixed, these can also be quite costly. “This is one of the reasons why a lot of the African majorities suffer with perhaps low self-esteem and confidence with regards to how their teeth look. A smile completes a person and if a person is not confident with their own smile, chances are he/she will have low self esteem,” she added.
According to Dr Motala, some teeth deformities can be avoided, for instance if extra attention is paid in a young child’s dental development. “Ensuring that a child does not suck on a bottle for far too long is one of the ways in which to ensure that a child’s dental development is not compromised in any way. Also, by taking the child to the dentist to take out a loose tooth is crucial as a loose tooth in the gums usually means that another underneath the gums is already making its way up to come out hence forcefully pushing the other tooth out, this does need medical dental attention,” she said.
Teeth deformities and how these can be fixed through orthodontist therapy:
- Pegged teeth; usually occur at a young age, some say that it is because a child sucks their thumb. Although doctors have confirmed that they may be caused by certain diseases or be hereditary. They can and may be minimized using braces that are performed on a patient with pegged teeth by an orthodontist.
- Pitted teeth; usually visible in adults, are teeth that are discoloured and look rather damaged and have a visible loss of tooth enamel. Dentists usually advise patients to use toothpaste that has a lot of mineralizing elements to help strengthen and help treat the tooth.
- Non-Erupted teeth; these refers to teeth that have not yet surfaced out of the gums into the mouth. Such a deformity can cause problems to the gums such as bleeding and sore gums. Treating such a deformity involves surgically removing a tooth to create space for the tooth that is stuck to pop out, braces can also be used.
