Molar cusps in Southern Chinese

Aim: To investigate the number of molar cusps of the Southern Chinese and compare these with studies in different populations. \n \nMaterials and Methods: The number of molar cusps of study casts of an unselected sample from a 12 year old Hong Kong Oral Health Survey of 12 year old children (n=459; 295 boys and 164 girls) were studied. \n \nResults: For upper first molars, 5-cusp molars were the most prevalent in males (39%) while 4-cusp molars were the most prevalent in females (39%). For lower first molars, 5-cusp molars were the most prevalent in both sexes (63%-72%). For lower second molars, 5-cusp molars were the most prevalent in both sexes (43%-53%). \n \nConclusion: Different from traditionally described, the Southern Chinese has more 5-cusp lower second molars than the 4- cusp ones.