Radiographic Assessment of Pattern and Distribution of Anomalies in Tooth Number among Ghanaian Patients

Abstract

Background: Hypodontia is one of the prevalent anomalies in the developing dentition. Together with hyperdontia, they are more common in the permanent than in the primary dentition and may occur in isolation or as a feature as a syndrome.Although asymptomatic, they may cause functional, aesthetic and psychological problems.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the distribution and pattern of abnormalities of tooth number in the permanent dentition of patients attending the University of Ghana Dental School Clinic, Accra..
Materials and Method: In this study, a total of 79 panoramic radiographs of subjects aged 8 16 years were studied and examined for hypo and hyperdontia. The data was recorded and then analysed using SPSS-16.0 version.
Results: Hypodontia (70.9%) was more common than hyperdontia (29.1%). There were 120 congenitally missing teeth in 56 panoramic radiographs. Congenitally missing teeth were more common in females (53.6%) than in males (46.4%). When comparing the maxilla to the mandible, a greater number of congenitally missing teeth were found in the maxilla (56.7%) and in the right side of both jaws (53.3%). The most observed hypodontia type was mild to moderate hypodontia (two to five missing teeth). The third molars were the most congenitally missing teeth (33.3%) followed by mandibular second premolars and the maxillary lateral incisors with identical frequencies of 15.8%. Next came the maxillary second bicuspids (14.2%), the mandibular central incisors (9.2%) then the maxillary first premolar (4.2%) in decreasing frequencies. The missing teeth were mostly bilateral (62.5%).
There were a total of 44 supernumerary teeth. Similar to congenitally missing teeth, there was a higher frequency of supernumerary teeth found in females (56.5%), in the maxilla (59.1%) and in the rightside of the jaws (54.5%).
Most supernumerary teeth were observed in the premolar region (40.9%, n=18) and there were more commonly unilateral
Conclusion: In this population, hypodontia was more common than hyperdontia. Both congenitally missing teeth and supernumerary teeth tended to occur more commonly in females, in the maxilla and on the right side of the jaws.
Upon the exclusion of third molars, the most frequent congenitally missing teeth were the mandibular second premolars and the maxillary lateral incisors.
The most frequent supernumerary teeth were paramolars associated with premolars and mesiodens were the least frequent.