Panoramic radiological study to identify locally displaced maxillary canines in Bangladeshi population

PURPOSE This study was performed to determine the prevalence of maxillary canine impaction on a basis of a single panoramic radiograph in Bangladeshi population. MATERIALS AND METHODS A random sample of seven hundred panoramic radiographs was collected from the patient record of a dental clinic. All the selected panoramic radiographs were taken from January 2009 to August 2010 by a single panoramic radiograph machine with the same exposure time (19 seconds) for all radiographs. One hundred and twenty panoramic radiographs were excluded to minimize the selection bias. In a dim lit room, an observer assessed the radiographs on a standard radiographic light box. The position of the impacted maxillary canine was recorded in line with the longitudinal axis of a tooth using the edge of a metal ruler. Data were subsequently put on SPSS 11.5 software and chi-square (χ(2)) tests were applied to find out the association. RESULTS Among 580 panoramic radiographs it was found that impacted maxillary canines were present in only 7 (1.2%) radiographs. A statistical significant difference was found between the age of the patients and the vertical position of the impacted canines (p=0.000) and between the age of the patients and the horizontal position of the impacted canines (p=0.003). CONCLUSION The prevalence was found to be low compared with the present study from the limitation of panoramic image. Further study needs to include three-dimensional imaging modality.