Prevalence of palatally impacted canines

BackgroundPalatally impacted canines (PICs) are among dental anomalies with different prevalence in each region. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of palatally impacted cuspids in Portuguese population, and to evaluate the possible relationships between PIC, gender, malocclusions, facial biotype, and morphological and occlusion features.MethodsA descriptive, retrospective, and cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample consisted of 1333 patients (581 males and 752 females), 12–63 years old evaluated in a period between September 2003 and December 2010. The clinical records were studied for evidence of one or both canines palatally impacted. Collected data were analyzed using chi-square tests (decision rule was α = 0.05).ResultsThe most frequent PIC was right cuspid. Females showed higher number of PIC. The prevalence of PICs in females was found approximately 5.2%.ConclusionsThe prevalence of PICs in Portuguese population was 4.5% (with 95% confidence interval: [3.5%, 5.8%]). The frequency is greater of impacted cuspids in females than in males.