A retrospective study on 69 cases of maxillary tooth transposition

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Pediatric Dentistry

Background:

• Tooth transposition is a rare dental anomaly.
• Previous studies on true maxillary tooth transposition (TMxTT) involved limited sample sizes.
• Understanding TMxTT prevalence and associated anomalies is crucial for diagnosis and treatment planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of true maxillary tooth transposition in a large sample of Hong Kong Chinese children.
• To investigate the association of TMxTT with other dental anomalies.
• To explore the potential role of developmental field defects in TMxTT pathogenesis.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of dental records and radiographs of children diagnosed with TMxTT.
• Data collection on sex and side distribution of TMxTT.
• Statistical analysis (Fisher exact or chi-squared test) to compare prevalence and associated anomalies with general population data.

Main Results:

• Identified 69 cases of TMxTT, with a prevalence of 0.81% in Hong Kong Chinese children.
• TMxTT was significantly more prevalent in females than males (P < 0.05).
• Patients with TMxTT showed a higher prevalence of congenitally missing teeth (P < 0.05), microdontia of maxillary lateral incisors (P < 0.0005), and dental impaction (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions:

• True maxillary tooth transposition has a notable prevalence in Hong Kong Chinese children, with a significant female predilection.
• TMxTT is strongly associated with other dental anomalies, particularly congenital absence and microdontia of maxillary lateral incisors.
• Findings support the hypothesis that developmental field defects contribute to the etiology of maxillary tooth transposition.