Craniofacial and Oral Manifestations of Non-Syndromic Hypodontia: A Review

Abstract

Patients with hypodontia appear to have a different craniofacial morphology as compared with controls. They tend to have more class III skeletal pattern and retroclined upper and lower soft tissue lips as a consequence of retroclined upper and lower incisors. These features are more pronounced as the severity of the hypodontia increases. In addition to changes in craniofacial and soft tissue morphology, various dental anomalies are commonly associated with hypodontia such as microdontia of the remaining dentition, anomalies in tooth shape, particularly peg-shaped upper lateral incisors, smaller root dimensions of some of the permanent teeth, and decreased maxillary and mandibular dental arch widths and lengths measurements. Other dental anomalies which are seen in association with hypodontia are taurodontism of molars, retained deciduous molars, delayed development of the permanent teeth, distoangulation of the mandibular second premolar, and infraocclusion of the deciduous molars.