Prevalence of dental anomalies in Trinidad and Tobago. A retrospective study

Abstract

Background: Dental anomalies entail an extensive range of disorders. This study aimed to ascertain the prevalence of several anomalies detectable on orthopantomograms and determine associations with ethnicity and gender. Methods: A retrospective review of 581 orthopantomograms and patient files was conducted. The prevalence of various anomalies was determined and the differences in ethnicity and gender were calculated using the chi-square test.Results: The study comprised 269(50.2%) males and 267 (49.8%) females with an age range of 5 -16years. 264(49.3%) participants were Afro-Trinidadians, 146(27.2%) were Indo-Trinidadians, and 126 (23.5%) were of mixed ethnicity. The overall prevalence of dental anomalies was 75.2%. No statistically significant correlation was found between the occurrence of dental anomalies and gender. A correlation was found between ethnicity and missing canines, impacted molars and other impacted teeth, and microdontia, with the mixed population having more anomalies. The impacted canine was the most prevalent anomaly. 44% of participants presented with one anomaly, and 24.81% of participants had two anomalies. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of dental anomalies in the Trinidad and Tobago population. There was an association with some anomalies and ethnicity and no association with gender. The presence of dental anomalies should be considered when assessing diagnosing and treatment planning treatment planning patients in this country.

Adult attitudes to sustainable dentistry in Trinidad and Tobago and their willingness to accept alternatives

“…The constitution of this sample consisted of two thirds female and mainly Afro-Trinidadian participants. This is not reflective of this population, where percentage by ethnic group for both Afro and Indo-Trinidadians is around 34%, and all other groups comprise around 30% of the population [ 27 – 29 ]. Therefore, this may limit the generalizability of the results since this gender and ethnic composition would affect the results of the study.…”