Prevalence of Dental Anomalies in a Sample of Turkish Children: A Retrospective Study

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dental anomalies in Turkish children aged 2-14 years by panoramic radiographies. The most common dental anomaly, the frequency of multiple dental anomalies and gender differences were further evaluated. Methods: Two thousand and thirty panoramic radiographies were scanned by two experts in a dimly illuminated environment. Anomalies were recorded in the Excel table under six main groups and 21 subgroups: size, number, position, texture, shape and eruption anomalies. A chi-square test was used to analyze the data at p<0.05. Results: The mean age of the patients evaluated was 9.52 +/- 2.68 years, and the gender distribution was balanced. It was found that germ deficiency (8.3%) was the most prevalent anomaly. The most common type of anomaly was number anomaly (11.1%) in which no statistically differences were found between females and males (p<0.05). The germ deficiency was more common in the mandible, whereas microdontia, taurodontism, and dilaceration were more common in the maxilla. Additionally, 116 patients (6.1%) had multiple types of anomalies simultaneously. Conclusion: The prevalence of dental anomalies was found to be 23.7%. It is crucial for clinicians to detect these anomalies in their early stages, as they can potentially lead to a variety of clinical complications.