Prevalence of impacted and supernumerary teeth in the North Indian population

OBJECTIVES: Dental impaction is a very frequent problem. Supernumerary teeth, or hyperdontia, are the presence of additional teeth to the normal series in the either of the dentition. The presence of impacted and/or supernumerary teeth can cause various complications. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of impacted and supernumerary teeth in the North Indian population. STUDY DESIGN: The panoramic radiographic records of 4750 patients attending the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Jodhpur Dental College General Hospital between September 2008 to December 2012 were examined for this retrospective study. The ages of the patients ranged from 8 to 72 years, with a mean of 34.6 years. RESULTS: A total of 798 (16.8%) patients presented with 1126 impacted teeth. Impacted canines were the most prevalent (9.7%), followed by impacted premolars (4.3%). Supernumerary teeth (1.6%) and impacted molars (1.2%) were less prevalent. Among the 842 impacted teeth, the most frequently affected teeth were the canines (56.7%), followed by premolars (27.8%), and supernumerary teeth (9.3%), while the prevalence of impacted molars was quite lower (6.2%). CONCLUSION: The most frequently impacted teeth were maxillary canines and the mesiodens were the most common supernumerary tooth. The early diagnosis of supernumerary and impacted teeth is essential to prevent malocclusion and malalignment of permanent teeth demonstrating the importance of panoramic radiographs in their detection. Key words:Impacted, supernumerary, prevalence, canines, mesiodens.