Radiologic Investigation of Prevalence, Associated Pathologies and Dental Anomalies of Non-third Molar Impacted Teeth in Turkish Oral Patients

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and associated pathologies of impacted teeth in Turkish oral patients. Methods: A retrospective survey was carried out in 12,129 patients who visited the Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Dentistry, Turkey, from January 2003 to December 2007. The minimum age for inclusion was 14 years and third molar impactions were excluded from the study. To be enrolled in the study, the patient's chart had to contain a panoramic radiograph with supplemental periapical radiographs. One radiologist examined all radiographs to determine the number, orientation and types of impacted teeth and the presence of associated pathologies and developmental dental anomalies associated with this phenomenon. Results: Of the 12,129 patients, 1117 (9.2%) patients aged 14 to 80 years had one or more dental impactions (in total 1356 impacted teeth). The male to female ratio was 1:1.4 (457:660). The maxillary canine teeth were the most commonly encountered (71.5%), followed by the mandibular premolars (8.6%). The analysis of the orientation of the impacted teeth showed that 480 impacted teeth were in a mesioangular position (35.4%), followed by vertical (28.9%), distoangular (18.9%), horizontal (16.5%) and buccolingual (0.3%) orientations. Conclusion: The prevalence of non-third molar impacted teeth was 9.2% among Turkish oral patients. The maxillary canines were the most frequent impacted teeth. The most common orientations of impacted teeth were the mesioangular position and vertical orientation. The most frequent associated pathologic change was cystic change. Keywords: canine, impacted teeth, panoramic radiograph, prevalence, radiology