Occurrence of ectopic eruption of different classes of teeth in growing children – A prospective Study

Abstract

Purpose: Most of the disorders related to tooth eruption occur during transitional stage of dentition. Among all the eruption problems, ectopic eruption is said to be the most frequent. This study is undertaken to observe ectopic eruption of different permanent teeth and their relative frequency of occurrence in early mixed dentition stage. Methods and Materials: After thorough clinical and radiographic examination, a sample of 169 subjects with at least one ectopic permanent tooth in age group of 6-13 years were selected. Data of ectopically erupted teeth was collected and subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Females are having higher rate of ectopic eruptions when compared to males at a ratio of 2:1.5 and unilateral ectopic eruptions occurred most commonly (68.2%). Conclusion: Ectopic eruption of more than one class of permanent teeth was observed in 1/5th of the subjects. Mandibular lateral incisors are the most commonly ectopically erupted teeth.