Prevalence of preeruptive intracoronal radiolucency in Chinese children from panoramic radiographs.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of preeruptive intracoronal dentin defects in Chinese children from panoramic radiographs, and describe the imaging characteristics of these lesions. METHODS: A total of 707 panoramic radiographs with 8,171 unerupted permanent teeth were examined. Each unerupted tooth was examined with regard to the absence or presence of radiolucencies within the dentin of the crown. The location and size of the lesions were recorded. Also whether the lesion communicated with the pulp was noted. RESULTS: The prevalence of intracoronal radiolucency in the subjects was 0.85%, and the tooth prevalence of the anomaly was 0.7%. CONCLUSION: Panoramic radiographs may help in detecting the preeruptive intracoronal defect.