Analysis of the Prevalence of Taurodont Deciduous Molars in Children

Abstract

Taurodontism is an anomaly characterized by a long and broad pulpal cavity and consumed apical location of the furcation area. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of taurodontism in deciduous molars based on digital panoramic radiographs of children. The study was performed on a sample of panoramic radiographs taken from 2,473 Korean children who visited the department of pediatric dentistry, Yonsei University Dental Hospital between Nov. 2005 and Mar. 2018. Taurodontism was mainly categorized by Daito’s method. Using panoramic radiographs, taurodontism was also categorized into mesotaurodontism, hypotaurodontism, and hypertaurodontism. Mesotaurodontism was the most prevalent type. A total of 2,473 panoramic radiographs were evaluated. The prevalence of taurodontism was 5.7% in general, 51.5% in the left quadrant, 48.5% in the right quadrant, 6.3% in the maxilla, and 93.7% in the mandible. The distribution of taurodontism stratified by gender showed a higher prevalence in males. This is a comprehensive study on the prevalence of taurodontism in children using the largest sample size to date.