Prevalence of Supernumerary Teeth in a Nigerian Population

Abstract

IntroductionSupernumerary teeth are those which appear in addition to the regular number of teeth. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of supernumerary teeth in the Nigerian population.Materials and MethodsThe multi-stage sampling technique was employed in this cross sectional study. Intra – oral examination of 1004 students of Delta State University, Abraka was conducted between May and June 2015. The oral examination involved 579 males and 425 females. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 20). The difference in the prevalence of supranumerary teeth between the two gender was determined with the chi-square test (p < 0.05 was considered significant).ResultsOne hundred and twenty- seven supernumerary teeth were recorded in this study (prevalence of supernumerary teeth was 12.70%). Supernumerary teeth were located mostly in the mandibular region (84.00%), compared to the maxillary region and commonly around the incisor teeth. It was observed that 58 supranumerary teeth were between 2 central incisors, 64 in the lateral incisor region and 5 in the premolar and molar region. The ratio of males to females with supernumeraries was found to be 1.4:1 (p > 0.05).Conclusion This study showed a higher prevalence of supernumeraries than previously reported. The prevalence of supernumerary teeth was more in males than their female counterparts.