Abstract
In the present study, we examined the records of patients treated at a pediatric dental clinic from January 2005 to December 2012, and analyzed those of 132 patients who required tooth extraction and underwent surgical intervention. The male-to-female ratio for anterior maxillary supernumerary teeth was 2 : 1. The site of supernumerary tooth occurrence was the central maxillary region in 10.9%, right maxillary region in 44.9%, and left maxillary region in 44.2%. In addition, the direction of tooth eruption was vertical in 23.1%, inverted in 71.4%, and horizontal in 5.5% cases. The number of impacted supernumerary teeth was 1 in 82.5%, 2 in 16.7%, and 3 in 0.8% of these cases. We also viewed impacted supernumerary teeth on panoramic radiographs to evaluate the vertical depth from the nasal floor, which was classified as Type I-III, based on the distance from the inferior margin of the nasal floor to the alveolar bone crest. When we evaluated that depth classification in regard to mean age at the time of surgery, Type I comprised 19.9% of all cases and the mean age was 7 years 7 months, Type II comprised 49.9% and the mean age was 6 years 3 months, and Type III comprised 30.7% and the mean age was 6 years 5 months. When combined, Type II and III accounted for approximately 80% of all cases. These results suggest that supernumerary teeth were located in more shallow positions in younger patients. In addition, early tooth extraction tended to be conducted for supernumerary teeth in the maxillary anterior region, likely because that is closer to the alveolar bone crest, allowing easier access.
