What is Enamel Hypoplasia?

Enamel Hypoplasia can dramatically affect the quality of one’s life and can be challenging to treat. As an enamel deficiency, it requires crowns, fillings, and tooth extractions to treat the condition and what causes it can be hard to prevent. For those who have this condition, or for those who wish to learn more about enamel hypoplasia, in this article, we will discuss enamel hypoplasia, its symptoms, what causes the condition, and how to prevent it.

What is Tooth Enamel?

Enamel, the hard surface of your teeth, protects the inner tissues, blood vessels, and nerves from exposure. As the hardest part of your body, it works like armor, allowing people to eat hot and cold foods and drinks without experiencing pain or discomfort. This coating also fights against any sharp objects that could harm the pulp inside the teeth, such as ice cubes and hard food items. However, enamel dissolves in acidic environments, meaning that highly acidic foods such as fruits will turn the bacteria in our mouths into lactic acid, which wears away at the enamel and destroys the tooth. Once the enamel of the tooth is gone, it cannot be grown back.

How is it Connected with Enamel Hypoplasia?

Brushing your teeth, flossing, and mouthwash help prevent the enamel from wearing down, which is why many family dentists emphasize keeping children active in their oral hygiene. For some, however, they can suffer from enamel hypoplasia, a condition that leaves teeth vulnerable to decay and damage. The condition’s defined by grooves and lines within the teeth across the surface. Depending on how severe the condition is for the person, enamel hypoplasia can create small dents in the teeth, discoloration, and even turn dark brown.

What Causes Enamel Hypoplasia?

According to medical research, there are two types of causes:

Hereditary – Enamel Hypoplasia caused by genetic defects refers to the lack of the critical development of formation, mineralization, and maturation of the teeth. If the process is unable to complete during development, then the teeth will become brittle, more likely to break, and will be comfortable to wear down.

Environmental – In cases of child development, any ecological causes can be prevented, such as malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, and bacterial infections. These can occur before the child is born and during its first few years outside of the womb.

Enamel Hypoplasia can occur in both children and adults. For children, it’s best to catch the condition early on so that way, dentists can treat the condition ahead of time. However, it’s not a reversible condition, so many of the treatments available at this time will only replace and temporarily repair the tooth.

How Is Enamel Hypoplasia Treated?

Treatments vary, but most often, it depends on the severity of the enamel hypoplasia. For children, bleaching with hydrogen peroxide can help turn the teeth white and can drill the affected area for cavities. For advanced cases in adults, the tooth may need to be replaced with a crown, bridge, or implant.

Enamel hypoplasia is a lifelong condition, but under the care of Dr. Swati Singh, you won’t have to worry about your child’s health. At Smiling Kids Pediatric Dentistry, Dr. Singh will be able to inform you about the latest treatment options available for your child and will give your child the most caring, assuring dental services in the Indianapolis, IN area.