Prevalence of Permanent Tooth Impaction and Associated Features in a Dental Population

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of permanent tooth impaction (excluding third molars) in a Jordanian dental population. A secondary aim is to study the distribution of impaction by side, arch and gender and its association with specific clinical features. Methods: A sample of 6,880 dental patients was surveyed for tooth impaction. The age limit ranged from 9 to 40 years. Impacted tooth, side, arch, gender, microdontia of maxillary lateral incisor, resorption of adjacent teeth, transmigration and retained deciduous teeth were recorded for each case diagnosed with impaction. Chi-square test, independent sample t-test, and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. Results: The prevalence of impaction was 6.7% (n=461) with no significant difference between males and females. Unilateral impaction (67.5%) was significantly more common than bilateral impaction (32.5%), but both sides were equally affected. Impaction in the maxilla (51.2%) was significantly more prevalent than that in the mandible (31.9%). The most commonly impacted tooth was the maxillary canine (50.3%) followed by the mandibular second premolar (36.2%), then the maxillary second premolar (18.4%), and finally, the mandibular canine (10.6%). Microdontia of the maxillary lateral incisor was significantly associated with impaction of the maxillary canine, while retained deciduous teeth associated with impaction were significantly more common in females than males. Conclusions: The prevalence and distribution of impaction were comparable with the findings from previous studies. This provides baseline epidemiological and demographic data for this selected population, which is important when planning referrals, interventions or dental treatments.