A person is said to have an extra tooth if the tooth is an addition to the normal series of teeth. Your dentist may refer to the word ‘supernumerary’ it simply means extra tooth.
- Mesiodens: an extra tooth located in the middle of the two front teeth in the upper jaw.
- Paramolar is an extra tooth located around the molar region while a distomolar is located behind the last molar(wisdom tooth).
- An extra tooth shaped like another “normal” tooth, is called a supplemetal tooth.
- Aesthetics: when located in the front of the jaw, it gives an unsightly look.
- Sometimes, the reason a tooth is delayed in its coming into the mouth is due to obstruction by an extra tooth. In this instance, the extra tooth is removed to allow the normal tooth come into the mouth.
- The presence of an extra tooth may lead to the teeth being tightly packed together making it difficult to clean the teeth which can lead to tooth decay.
Sometimes extra teeth may be present in the bone without showing in the mouth. This is usually detected by taking X-rays of the jaw.
Most dentists recommend removing extra teeth due to the various problems associated with them. These include:
Please note that this is different from cases where the baby tooth has not fallen off but the child already has the adult teeth. Click Help! Another Tooth is growing behind my Child’s Baby tooth.
Concerned about your extra tooth, see a dentist.
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