Prevalence of tooth transposition. A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE

To synthesize currently existing data and investigate the prevalence of tooth transposition as well as its relation to gender, dental arch, and quadrant occurrence.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Several electronic databases were searched in order to identify the potentially relevant studies. Initially, 591 papers were retrieved. After applying specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, nine studies were eligible for inclusion in this evaluation. Meta-analysis was performed by determining the event rate and the 95% confidence intervals estimated by the random effect model.

RESULTS

Analysis of the data of the primary studies revealed that tooth transposition has a mean prevalence of 0.33%. This prevalence seems to be the same between the two genders. However, tooth transposition appears more frequently in the maxilla than in the mandible and more unilaterally than bilaterally.

CONCLUSION

Tooth transposition is a rare phenomenon that affects various populations, including across genders, in a similar manner. Some maxillary predisposition exists, and its unilateral occurrence is higher than that of bilateral.