A radiographic study of prevalence and location of enamel pearls in a Saudi Arabian adolescent population

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of enamel pearls on panoramic radiographs and to explore any potential correlation between the occurrences of enamel pearls with gender, jaw and tooth involved. Material and Methods: Digital panoramic radiographs of 642 adolescents aging 12-19 years were examined for the presence of enamel pearls. The location of involved tooth in terms of jaw and side and gender were recorded. Statistical analysis was carried out by applying Chi-square tests with the Yates correction. The level of significance was set at 5%. Results: The person prevalence of enamel pearls was 4.82% of patients and tooth prevalence was 0.96%. No statistical significant difference was observed between maxillary and mandibular arches and no gender and side predilection was observed. Most of the enamel pearls were seen in maxillary third molars (4.76%) and mandibular third molars (2.68%), followed by maxillary first molars (2.68%) and mandibular second molars (1.95%). No enamel pearl was observed in any of the anterior teeth or in any of the deciduous teeth. Conclusion: The prevalence of pulp stones was observed in 4.28% of patients and 0.96% of teeth. They were most frequently seen on molars with no predilection for gender, jaw and side.