Frequency and Variability of Five Non-Metric Dental Crown Traits in the Primary and Permanent Dentitions of a Racially Mixed Population from Cali, Colombia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determinethe prevalence and variability of five non-metric dentalcrown traits (Carabelli cusp, protostylid, groove pattern,and cusps 6 and 7) in the deciduous (Um2 and Lm2)and permanent (UM1 and LM1) teeth in children inthe mixed-dentition, and to compare these frequencieswith the literature. A descriptive study was conductedto characterize the dental morphology of young subjectsin mixed dentition stages. The Arizona State UniversityDental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) and Grine,Sciulli, and Hanihara methods were used as referenceto compare the prevalence of dental traits in dentalcasts from 100 subjects from a Colombian racially mixedpopulation. The high prevalence of furrows and pits ofthe Carabelli cusp, minor expressions of the protostylid(foramen cecum), and the low frequencies of cusps 5 and6, plus the behavior of the expression of groove patterncollectively suggest that this group reflects influences byboth the Mongoloid and Caucasoid dental complexes.Correspondence of trait expression in both the primaryand permanent dentition was also demonstrated (P< 0.05). Some of the non-metric trait frequencies alsoexhibited sexual dimorphism.