Prevalence of hypodontia and oligodontia in a sample of orthodontic and pediatric dentistry patients at prince Hashem Bin Al-Hussein military hospital

ABSTRACT

To determine the prevalence and degree of severity of hypodontia and oligodontia in a sample of orthodontic and pediatric dentistry patients at Prince Hashem Ben Al-Hussein Military Hospital. A total of 1524 patients [847 females and 677 males] were studied with regard to the prevalence of congenitally missing teeth. Diagnostic records and panoramic radiographs were examined for any missing permanent teeth excluding third molars. Hypodontia occurred in 67 subjects [4.4%]. The missing teeth were observed in 28 males and 39 females. There were no statistically significant differences between both sexes. The most frequently missing teeth were maxillary lateral incisors [61.2%], mandibular second premolars [28.4%], mandibular central incisors [26.9%] and upper second premolars [10.4%] respectively. Of the patients with hypodontia, 52 subjects [77.6%] lacked one or two teeth. Fifteen subjects [22.4%] lacked three or more teeth. Fifty four subjects [80.6%] had hypodontia involving anterior teeth, while 22 subjects [32.8%] lacked posterior teeth and 11 subjects [16.4%] had two or more teeth missing in the same quadrant. Oligodontia was found in four patients [0.3%]. The result of this study revealed that the prevalence of hypodontia was 4.4% and of oligodontia was 0.3%. The findings implicate the need for a thorough clinical and radiographic assessment of all patients prior to extraction of either deciduous or permanent teeth, and reiterate for early diagnosis and orthodontic treatment if needed