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Updated: Jun 6, 2026
Systematic Assessment of Mammalian Skull Specimens for Dental and Temporomandibular Joint Pathology
Published on: August 22, 2022
A clinical epidemiologic analysis of a sample of 73 supernumerary premolars
José M Martínez-González1, Jorge Cortés-Bretón Brinkmann, José Luis Calvo-Guirado
1School of Dentistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.
Background:
The authors conducted a retrospective study to determine the prevalence of supernumerary premolars in sample of patients from Madrid, as well as the possible complications associated with the presence of such supernumerary premolars.
Methods:
The study included a data assessment of all patients seeking dental care at a hospital's department of oral surgery across four years. The authors studied data from patients who had supernumerary premolars.
Results:
The authors identified supernumerary premolars in the records of 43 patients (0.32 percent) of the total population studied. These patients had 73 hyperdontic premolars (65 mandibular premolars [89 percent] and eight maxillary premolars [11 percent]).
Conclusions:
Supernumerary premolars usually are diagnosed as a coincidental radiographic finding without an associated pathology. However, the authors found a higher percentage of comorbidity than they initially expected.
Clinical Implications:
Mechanical or obstructive pathology was associated with 2.7 percent of the premolars, and enlargement of the follicular sac of more than 3 millimeters was present in 26.0 percent of the sample.
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