Prevalence of talon cusps in Jordanian permanent teeth: a radiographic study

BACKGROUND The aim of the study is to investigate the prevalence of talon cusps in a sample of Jordanians dental patients and their distribution among different types of teeth. METHODS The data were collected from radiographic examination of 3,024 periapical films showing 9,377 teeth from a random sample of 1,660 patients. A tooth was considered having talon cusp if there was a V-shape radiopaque structure superimposed the tooth structure. RESULTS Talon cusps were detected in 52 teeth (tooth prevalence = 0.55%). Maxillary canines were the most commonly affected teeth (46% of cases), followed by maxillary lateral incisor teeth (39% of cases) and maxillary central incisors teeth (15% of cases). Teeth with talon cusps were found in 40 subjects (person prevalence = 2.4%). Bilateral talon cusps were seen in 12 patients. CONCLUSIONS Attention should be paid to the presence of talon cusp and the treatment problems associated with it.