Taurodontism in Orthodontics Patients: A Retrospective Study

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the occurrence of taurodontism as well as the association with other dental anomalies in Brazilian orthodontic patients during the period between 1998-2000. Methods: Records of 1049 patients (10 to 15 years old) were analyzed. Panoramic radiographies were digitalized and the taurodontism of the first molars were diagnosed according to the method described by Seow & Lai, 1989, using Image Pro program. The presence of taurodontism is accepted when the crown body – root ratio (CB: R) was equal or superior to 1.1. Molars with incomplete root formation, crown with large caries decay or restorations were excluded. For those records where taurodontism was detected, the presences of other dental anomalies, hypodontia and supernumerary teeth, were also investigated. Results: A total of 1049 dental records were analyzed, but only 893 records were considered according to the exclusion criteria, 463 girls (51.85%) and 430 boys (48.15%). Taurodontism of 120 permanent teeth was diagnosed in 89 records (9.96%), 48 girls (53.93%) and 41 boys (46.07%) with no statistical difference between genders. Of the 89 individuals, 58 (65.17%) had unilateral taurodontism, while 31 (34.83%) had bilateral taurodontism. It was observed 105 (87.5%) hypotaurodont teeth and 15 (12.5%) mesotaurodont teeth. Hypertaurodontism was not observed. None of the records reported any kind of systemic disease or syndrome in the affected children. A number of 12 individuals (13.48%) had at least one dental anomaly associated with taurodontism. The association with hypodontia was observed in 10 individuals. The presence of supernumerary teeth was registered in 2 individuals. Conclusion: the frequency in our study is high when compared with other studies. However this could be due to the sample studied. Further studies are required to assess taurodontism prevalence in the general population in Brazil.