Prevalence and intra-oral distribution of agenesis of permanent teeth among Eastern Turkish children.

AIM: The aim of this study was to describe agenesis of permanent teeth, excluding the third molars, in a sample of children in Eastern Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study assessed 1,291 digital orthopantomograms (OPT) (678 males and 613 females), taken at the Faculty of Dentistry, Ataturk University, Erzurum. The chi-square test was used to compare maxillary and mandibular hypodontia in males and females. RESULTS: Eighty children were found to have at least one tooth absent from their permanent set of teeth. The prevalence of tooth agenesis was 6.2%. A total of 135 permanent teeth were missing as a result of the congenital condition. Tooth agenesis was found more frequently in females than in males. Although there was no significant difference between genders in the prevalence of hypodontia among the children (p>0.05), the difference between genders in children who had congenitally missing teeth (CMT) reached a statistically significant level (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: When hypodontia in a Turkish paediatric population was compared to other populations, the characteristics were found to be similar to the Western population. However, the population in Eastern Turkey differs from the population in Asia, where there is less incisor tooth agenesis and more second molar tooth agenesis.