Prevalence of Dental Anomalies in Trinidad and Tobago. A Retrospective Study

Background: Dental anomalies entail an extensive range of disorders. This study aimed to ascertain the prevalence of several anomalies detectable on orthopantomograms and determine associations with ethnicity and gender. 

Methods: A retrospective review of 581 orthopantomograms and patient files was conducted. The prevalence of various anomalies was determined and the differences with ethnicity and gender were calculated using the chi-square test. 

Results: The study comprised 269(50.2%) males and 267 (49.8%) females with an age range of 5–16 years. 264(49.3%) participants were Afro-Trinidadians, 146(27.2%) were Indo-Trinidadians, and 126 (23.5%) were of mixed ethnicity. The overall prevalence of dental anomalies was 75.2%. No statistically significant correlation was found between the occurrence of dental anomalies and gender. An association was found between ethnicity and missing canines, impacted molars and other impacted teeth, and microdontia. The mixed population had more anomalies. The impacted canine was the most prevalent anomaly. 44% of participants presented with one anomaly, and 24.81% of participants had two anomalies. 

Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of dental anomalies in the Trinidad and Tobago population. There was an association with some anomalies and ethnicity and no association with gender. The presence of dental anomalies should be considered when assessing diagnosing and treatment planning patients in this country.