Clinical and epidemiological study of supernumerary teeth in patients from Plovdiv region

Abstract

Abnormalities in the number of teeth are conditions that occur predominantly in childhood. Therefore, monitoring the prevalence and early diagnosis is very important for the timely and appropriate therapeutic approach. The aim of the study was to investigate the incidence of supernumerary teeth in patients from the city of Plovdiv. Methods and equipment: 1,000 dental patients were studied. Data were collected from patients seeking medical attention at the Faculty of Dental Medicine in Plovdiv. We used clinical, X-ray and statistical methods for investigation. Results: A 1.1% prevalence of supernumerary teeth (ST) was observed in the studied patients. A statistically significant difference was found between the presence of ST in the permanent and mixed dentition, with a 3% relative proportion of ST in the mixed and 0.62% in the permanent dentition (p < 0.05). The relative proportion of ST in the maxilla was 90.9%, and in the mandible – 9.1%. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was found in the distribution of ST by jaws. In our study, a higher frequency of mesiodens and distomolar (1.08% and 0.22%, respectively) was found in males, and a decreasing relative proportion from the midline to distally in females (mesiodens – 0.56%, paramolar – 0.19%, distomolar – 0.19%). Conclusion: Supernumerary teeth are a relatively rare dental abnormality in the Bulgarian population. Its distribution by sex and morphology corresponds to the prevalence in Caucasians and populations of southern countries.