Tooth resorption is an unusual and not fully understood condition. If a loved one or family member has gone through tooth resorption and you're concerned about the possibility of it happening to your teeth, here's what you should know about this condition.
What It Is
As stated, tooth resorption is a condition that isn't fully understood yet. It impacts some people while others can go through their entire lives without it. Doctors and scientists believe that there may be a genetic component, but that doesn't mean that you're necessarily doomed to get it even if you're related to someone who has had it.
Tooth resorption is a condition where the tooth starts to break down on the inside instead of the outside, like with a cavity. It's because the body is trying to absorb the tooth like it once did with your baby teeth just prior to them falling out. This is why baby teeth tend to lack roots and are hollow when you look at them from the bottom. However, this process should never happen with adult teeth.
The Problem With Symptoms
The issue with looking for symptoms for this condition is that symptoms only tend to develop once the condition is quite advanced. From the outside, tooth resorption is invisible until it progresses to the point where it breaks through the outer layer of the tooth. So typically, the only real symptom you can expect from tooth resorption is pain. As the interior structures of the tooth are absorbed and broken down, pain tends to result as the areas with nerves are impacted. However, this condition is often overlooked because its only symptom is pain, and many people wait too long to get help for it.
How to Prevent It
There's no known way to make absolutely sure that you won't get tooth resorption, but there is something you can do to ensure that it's caught early on. The only thing you need to do is to visit your dentist for regular checkups.
X-rays are a part of yearly or twice-yearly dental checkups, and for a good reason. In addition to discovering a slew of other potential problems, dental X-rays can reveal that tooth resorption is happening before pain even starts to develop. This will allow your dentist to drill the tooth and remove the portion that's being absorbed, putting a stop to the tooth resorption and saving your tooth in the process.
Tooth resorption isn't a condition anybody wants to have, but it can happen all the same. If you're concerned about your risk of developing this condition, talk to a dentist like those at Thornley Dental to learn more and to find out via X-rays if you are already developing it.
Share23 March 2020
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