Assessment of hypodontia in the Turkish patients referring to the orthodontic clinic: A retrospective study

OBJECTIVE The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the prevalence and distribution of hypodontia in the permanent dentition in a sample of Turkish patients who referred to the Ankara Dental Hospital for orthodontic treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS The pre-treatment orthodontic records of 2530 patients, 1382 girls (54.62%) and 1148 boys (45.38%) between the chronological ages of 7 and 16 years, were examined for evidence of hypodontia. The third molars were excluded in this study. RESULTS The prevalence of hypodontia in the inspected population was 5% (3.05% for girls, 1.95% for boys). The average number of the congenitally missing teeth per patient was 2.03 (1.08 for girls, 0.95 for boys). The prevalence of the congenitally missing permanent teeth was 34% for the upper laterals, 30% for the lower second premolars, 12.5% for the upper second premolars and 23.5% for the other teeth. Most patients with hypodontia (84.9%) (57.13% for girls, 27.77% for boys) had got missing either one tooth (45.23%) or two teeth (39.67%). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of hypodontia in girls was higher than in boys in this sample of the Turkish patients. The upper laterals and lower second premolars were consecutively the most symmetrically absent teeth. The prevalence of advanced hypodontia was lower than single and symmetrical hypodontia.