Congenitally missing teeth (hypodontia): A review of the literature concerning the etiology, prevalence, risk factors, patterns and treatment

Abstract

Congenitally missing teeth (CMT), or as usually called hypodontia, is a highly prevalent and costly dental

anomaly. Besides an unfavorable appearance, patients with missing teeth may suffer from malocclusion,

periodontal damage, insuf

ficient alveolar bone growth, reduced chewing ability, inarticulate pronunciation 

fields such as orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, prosthodontics, periodontics, maxillofacial surgery, anatomy, 

findings on the etiology, prevalence,risk factors, occurrence patterns, skeletal changes and treatments of congenitally missing teeth. It seemsthat CMT usually appears in females and in the permanent dentition. It is not conclusive whether it 

Key Words:Complications, etiology, hypodontia, prevalence, risk factors, tooth abnormalities,treatment 

tends to occur more in the maxilla or mandible and also in the anterior versus posterior segments.

It can accompany various complications and should be attended by expert teams as soon as possible.

anthropology and even the insurance industry. This essay reviews the

and other problems. Treatment might be usually expensive and multidisciplinary. This highly frequent

and yet expensive anomaly is of interest to numerous clinical, basic science and public health