The Prevalence of Taurodontism in a North Anatolian Dental Patient Subpopulation

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of taurodontism in a north Anatolian dental patient subpopulation, considering factors such as dental localization. Methods: We designed a descriptive study evaluated of panoramic radiography of 1044 patients who presented to our Endodontic Services of Dentistry Faculty, Ordu University, in the city of Ordu in the north of Turkey. All the data (age and sex) were obtained from Turcasoft software (Samsun, Turkey). Patients who were less than 15 years at the time of the radiographic examination, records with poor quality radiographs and records with radiographs of only primary teeth were excluded. Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey Address for correspondence/reprints: Asst. Prof. Dr. Yasin Atakan Benkli Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey Business telephone number: 00904522121286 Fax number: +90.4522121289 E-mail address: [email protected] DOI: 10.19127/mbsjohs.55972 To minimize the variability in the present study, the examinations were carried out jointly by the first two authors of the article over approximately one month. The taurodontism classification of Shifman was used. At the end of the study, the data were assessed statistically using SPSS 16.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Results: In this study, 3813 molar teeth of 936 patients were assessed. Taurodontism was present in 622 (16%) of these teeth. In 410 (66%) cases, the taurodontism affected the maxilla, and it affected the mandibles in 212 (34%) cases. Taurodontism occurred in 75 (12%) first molar teeth, 266 (43%) second molar teeth and 281 (45%) third molar teeth. Conclusion: Taurodontism was a frequent anomaly in a north Anatolian dental patient subpopulation. The frequency of this anomaly may vary in different ethnic groups.