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Pointy and Missing Teeth in Children

01/13/2011

Question:

At a vist to the dentist she noticed that my daughter nearly 4yrs had all pointy teeth and two missing she seemed quite concerned about this and also that her teeth where all the same colour all the way through which is quite rare.the dentist said she will read up on this because she as only been in her job for a year and never seen it before. so could you please give me some info on what this could mean and try and put my mind at rest many thanks

Answer:

This description of your child’s teeth could indicate a range of conditions from perfectly normal to relatively rare developmental problems including ectodermal dysplasia (ED). ED affects teeth while they are developing and children with this condition frequently have cone-shaped teeth. Missing teeth is another common finding. Some types of ED also affect the sweat glands so that affected children are intolerant to heavy exercise and heat. My advice is to have your child examined by a pediatric dentist. This is a specialist in dentistry for children and s/he will be very familiar with the conditions that could be affecting your child. 

For more information:

Go to the Healthy Mouth, Healthy Kids health topic.