Supernumerary teeth: review of the literature and a survey of 152 cases.

INTRODUCTION A review of the literature relating to supernumerary teeth is presented along with a survey of 152 cases.

METHODS The study population consisted of 152 children who visited the department of Paediatric Dentistry at the Jordan University Hospital. Patients ranged in age from 5 to 15 years. Supernumeraries were detected by clinical examination and radiographs.

RESULTS Males were affected more than females with a sex ratio of 2.2 : 1. Seventy-seven percent of the patients had one supernumerary tooth, 18.4% had double teeth, and 4.6% had three or more supernumeraries. Ninety percent of the supernumerary teeth occurred in the premaxilla, of which 92.8% were in the central incisor region and of these latter 25% were located in the midline. The other 10.4% of the supernumeraries were located in the premolar, canine, molar, and lower central incisor regions. Two cases were of non-syndrome supernumerary teeth. Seventy-five percent of the supernumeraries were conical, 83.1% were in the normal vertical position and 26.5% were erupted. Conical-shaped supernumerary teeth had a significantly higher rate of eruption compared to the tuberculate type.