Prevalence of Cusp of Carabelli and its caries susceptibility - an ambidirectional cohort study

To investigate the susceptibility of Cusp of Carabelli (CoC) to caries in 3- to 4-year-old children.

The prevalence of CoC was obtained, by two calibrated examiners using 2128 maxillary posterior sectional die models of 1064 caries-free children (that were prepared 8 months back). Four months after recording the CoC, prospective clinical examination of above-mentioned children was carried out by a calibrated third examiner. International Caries Detection and Assessment System was used to record caries of the mesiopalatal surfaces (site of CoC) of the primary maxillary second molars. Data were expressed in numbers and percentages and subjected to chi-square and logistic regression analyses.

The prevalence of CoC was 90.6%. The incidence of caries in association with CoC was 10.5%, and this association was statistically significant (0.004), with an odds ratio of 4.7. A statistically significant association was found between positive and negative expression of CoC and caries (0.001), with an odds ratio of 7.7 in positive expression and 4.1 in negative expression.

The prevalence of CoC was high, with an increased risk for caries with a positive cusp expression. This highlights the need for closer assessment of the mesiopalatal surfaces of primary maxillary second molars during examination.