Ankylosis of Teeth

The oral cavity is truly a marvel of nature. On one hand, you have teeth, which are the hardest structures in the body and then you have the soft yet strong tongue muscle. The teeth that are present in the oral cavity are set in the jawbone.

The teeth are not directly attached to the jawbone, but are held in place in their socket with the help of gingival and periodontal fibers. However, sometimes, these gingival and periodontal fibers are missing and instead, the tooth is directly fused to the bone. This is known as ankylosis of teeth.

There are no known causes of this condition, although some people say that trauma to the bone during development of teeth may be a cause.

The symptoms of dental ankylosis are not always visible. At first, if there is ankylosis of a primary or milk tooth, then there will be stunted growth or incomplete eruption of the tooth. Also, if the milk tooth is ankylosed, then it will not shed easily, or at all for that matter and so, may prevent the eruption of permanent teeth.

If a permanent tooth is ankylosed, then it may not necessarily show any symptoms and the tooth may be diagnosed accidentally when an x-ray is taken. The x-ray will show no space between the tooth and the bone, and in fact, there will be no demarcation between the tooth's root and the jawbone.

One of the main problems associated with this condition is that the tooth may not fully erupt, if it is a milk tooth, it may disturb the entire occlusion of the person. It will also prevent the permanent tooth present underneath it from erupting.

Furthermore, if there is ankylosis of teeth, then, as these teeth are directly attached to the bone and do not have any periodontal fibers, then extracting this tooth will be difficult because, during the tooth extraction, the bone plate may also give way.

So, in such cases, there may be need for a small surgical procedure to be performed, wherein, the bony plate may need to be detached from the tooth so as to remove it without disturbing or damaging the bony plate.

Also, one of the biggest problems that people that having ankylosis of teeth have to face is that they cannot opt for orthodontic treatment, as tooth movement in such cases is not possible.

If the ankylosed tooth is a fully erupted permanent tooth, then there is no need for any treatment, as it is not harming or causing any impairment in the dental health of the person. However, if the ankylosed tooth is a deciduous tooth which is not erupting properly, then surgical intervention will be required to allow the tooth to erupt in the oral cavity.

Similarly, if there is a permanent tooth that has ankylosed and so is causing problems in the oral cavity, like misalignment of teeth, then first the ankylosed teeth/tooth will have to be removed and only then, can orthodontic treatment be initiated.

This isn't really a major problem and in fact, is more often than not, an asymptomatic treatment. However, if a tooth is causing problems in the oral cavity, or is impeding the normal eruption pattern and alignment of teeth, then it should be investigated, diagnosed, and treated at the earliest, so as to prevent any further complications.

Disclaimer: This story is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.