Incidence of Impacted Teeth and Transmigrated Canines- --a Radiographic Study in Turkish Dental Patients

Background and Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine the incidence of transmigrated maxillary and mandibular canine teeth and also of the other impacted teeth, apart from third molars, in a Turkish dental patients subpopulation. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study of 2900 panoramic radiographs (PRs) taken from patients who were referred to the Faculty of Dentistry, Abant İzzet Baysal University, Turkey, between December 2010 and July 2011, and who were examined to identify cases of transmigrated canines and impacted teeth. Demographic data of all patients were also recorded. The effect of sex and sidedness on the recorded abnormality was evaluated using a t-test. Results: A total of 137 (4.72%) patients presented with at least one impacted tooth. None of them had impacted mandibular incisors and maxillary molars. Impacted maxillary canines were the most prevalent dental anomaly (3.27%), followed by mandibular canines (0.55%) and mandibular premolars (0.37%). In patients whose impacted teeth were detected, sex showed statistical significance (p= 0.005), whereas sidedness did not show statistical significance on the recorded abnormality. Furthermore, the incidence of transmigrated upper and lower canine teeth was found to be 0.13% and 0.06%, respectively. Conclusions: The most frequently impacted tooth was the upper canine followed by the lower canine, lower premolars, upper premolars, and the rest. The incidence of transmigrated maxillary canine teeth was greater than that of the mandibular canine teeth. With the increased use of panoramic radiographs, it is unavoidable that the diagnosis of such anomalies will increase.