Characteristics of 283 supernumerary teeth in southern Chinese children.

OBJECTIVES

This was a retrospective study to determine the characteristics and distribution of supernumerary teeth in southern Chinese children.

METHODS

The study population consisted of 208 children aged from 2 to 16 years.

RESULTS

Males were more frequently affected than females in the ratio 3.1:1. Of the 283 supernumerary teeth, 95.0% were located in the premaxilla, 71.5% were conical, 70.7% were unilateral, 29.3% were bilateral, 47.7% were inverted, and 16.9% were erupted. The mean age at the time of diagnosis and removal of the supernumerary teeth was 7.3 +/- 2.7 years (the minimum age was 2.1 years) and 8.1+/- 2.7 years (the minimum age was 4.1 years), respectively. Seventy percent of the children were in the mixed dentition and 81.3% of the supernumeraries were removed under general anesthesia.

CONCLUSION

In accordance with previous studies, the majority of the supernumerary teeth were located in the premaxillary region, were conical shaped, and remained unerupted.