Prevalence of dental anomalies in a Mexican population

Abstract

Background: Data on dental anomaly prevalence is instrumental to diagnosis and treatment in different populations. A retrospective study was done to determine dental anomaly prevalence and associations in a group of orthodontic patients in a Mexican population. Methods: Number, shape, eruption and structural dental anomalies were assessed from the records of 670 subjects. Prevalence, distribution, and associations between the different anomalies were calculated. Chi-squared and Fisher’s exact tests (p<0.05) were used to identify significant differences by sex, and to establish associations among the studied anomalies. Results: Twenty-eight percent of the sample exhibited at least one dental anomaly. Statistical analysis identified no differences by gender. The most common anomaly was impacted teeth (13.58%), followed by microdontic upper lateral incisors (6.26%). These two anomalies also had the highest number of significant associations with other anomalies. Conclusions: The dental anomalies prevalence documented here differ from those reported in the literature for other populations in the world. Dental anomalies are normally associated with each other and occur in groups linked to ethnic origin. The present results indicate the presence of differing suites of anomalies between the studied Mexican population and other populations in the world. This variation highlights the need for further research on dental anomalies in Latin America to aid in their diagnosis and treatment.