Frequency of cusp of carabelli in maxillary permanent first molars and its association with dental caries in patients visiting Peshawar Dental Hospital, Peshawar.

Objective: To find out the frequency of cusp of Carabelli and its association with dental caries in maxillary permanent first molars in both male and female patients of Peshawar. Study Design: Cross Sectional Study. Setting: OPD of Peshawar Dental Hospital, Peshawar. Period: July 2016 to December 2016. Material & Methods: A total of 300 patients (125 males and 175 females) were selected through consecutive sampling technique and the number of teeth examined was 600 (two teeth per patient). Age group selected for the patients was from 13 to 30 years. Both the genders having fully erupted maxillary permanent first molars on both sides of the jaw were included in the study and the teeth were examined usin0g mouth mirror while the presence of caries in Carabelli groove was checked with the help of dental explorer (probe). Results: Of the total 300 patients, 118 (39.3%) presented the cusp of Carabelli on maxillary permanent first molars and the number of teeth having the cusp was 192 (32%) out of the total 600 among them. 24.7% of the patients had cusp present on both right and left MPFM while 10.3% of patients had CC present only on right maxillary molars and in 4.3% of patients, it was located on left molars. Gender differentiation of the cusp did not show a statistically significant difference (p-value 0.140). The frequency of caries associated with the cusp of Carabelli groove was found to be 17.7%. Out these patients, 8 males (34.7%) and 15 females (65.2%) were affected. P value for this distribution was 0.651, which shows no statistically significant difference between genders for the presence of caries. Conclusion: The cusp of Carabelli is a common finding on the palatal surface of mesiolingual cusp of maxillary permanent first molars in a hospital-based population of Peshawar with no statistically significant difference between males and females. Caries in cusp of Carabelli groove is a common association with the cusp having no significant difference between genders.