RESEARCH AND REVIEWS: JOURNAL OF DENTAL SCIENCES

Hypodontia, also known as congenital lack of teeth or tooth agenesis, is the most common intraoral and dental anomaly. It occurs in ca. 10% of healthy people and is thought to inflict children with clefts six times more often. Occurrence of hypodontia depends on location and severity of the cleft. Unilateral complete clefts are thought to demonstrate the highest incidence of congenitally missing teeth of all the cleft groups. Mostly, in patients with cleft lip and palate, congenital lack of teeth refers to incisor region on the cleft side. A frequent lack of teeth in patients with clefts refer to premolars, usually maxillary ones. In clefts, lack of teeth usually refers to the left side of the dental arch. Even though hypodontia refers to upper lateral incisors and lower premolars mostly, it may refer to any group of teeth. Congenital lack of teeth in children with clefts needs appropriate treatment, which usually bases on orthodontic treatment followed by prosthetic reconstructions.