Evaluation of Maxillary Supernumerary Teeth for Pediatric Dental Patients by Cone Beam Computed Tomography

Aim: The study is to evaluate the number, location and morphologic characteristics of pediatric supernumerary teeth in the maxilla using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and methods: There are 244 patients with a total of 328 supernumerary teeth examined by CBCT in the pediatric dental department of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH), Taiwan between 2009 and 2013. Patient's demographic data was collected, and the number, location, shape and eruption direction were analyzed. Results: The age of patients ranges from 3 to 14 years with a mean age of 7.7 years. There are 66.39% of patients exhibited one single supernumerary tooth, while 33.20% had two and 0.41% had three supernumerary teeth. Male patients were more than females with a ratio of 3.7: 1. Among these supernumerary teeth, 73.48% were located at palatal side and between the maxillary incisors. The conical shape was the predominant type (74.16%) and most axis was inverted (52.74%). Conclusions: The occurrence of supernumerary teeth is mostly single, conical in shape and inverted. CBCT imaging provided significant and accurate information for pretreatment evaluation of supernumerary tooth.