Double teeth
Nature sometimes likes to play tricks. Where in most cases there should be one, sometimes there is one and… another. The anomaly of double teeth does not happen often. It affects about 0.5% of cases in primary teeth and 0.1% of cases in permanent teeth.
What are double teeth?
In an article published in 2019 in Medical Tribune Polska by the Independent Department of Pediatric Dentistry of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin concerning the problem of double teeth, the following classification was adopted:
Fused teeth
These are teeth in which the roots have fused together via cementum, but with separate root canals, pulp chambers, and distinct crowns. The fusion occurs at a point in tooth development when the roots are forming and the crowns are already fully shaped. Concrescent teeth are a pathognomonic sign of cleidocranial dysostosis.
Fused teeth
They are formed as a result of the fusion of two or more tooth buds at a time when their crowns are not yet mineralized. The fusion can be partial or complete, i.e., only through the enamel or through both enamel and dentin.
Fused teeth can have:
separate pulp chambers and root canals,
a common chamber, but separate root canals,
a common large chamber and one common root canal.
The formation of a fused tooth can lead to a reduction in the number of teeth, but if the fusion involves a regular tooth and a supplementary one (a supplementary tooth has a normal structure) or a supernumerary one (a supernumerary tooth has an abnormal structure), the number of teeth will not decrease.
Geminated teeth
They are formed as a result of the division of a single tooth bud during the stage of chamber formation. This results in a single root with one root canal and one wide crown with a distinct groove and a large, common chamber. *
At the Luxdentca Dentistry Center in Krakow, we provide comprehensive treatment for double teeth; however, these are very rare and extremely sporadic cases.
—
* source: podyplomie.pl
