~ 10 ~ International Journal of Applied Dental Sciences 2019; 5(1): 10-12 ISSN Print: 2394-7489 ISSN Online: 2394-7497 IJADS 2019; 5(1): 10-12 © 2019 IJADS www.oraljournal.com Received: 03-11-2018 Accepted: 06-12-2018 Dr. Mushtaq Bhat Junior Resident, Dept. of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Govt Dental College and Hospital, Shireen Bagh, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Dr. Rizwan Hamid Junior Resident, Dept. of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Govt Dental College and Hospital, Shireen Bagh, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Dr. Ajmal Mir Senior Resident, Dept. of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Govt Dental College and Hospital, Shireen Bagh, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Correspondence Dr. Mushtaq Bhat Junior Resident, Dept. of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Govt Dental College and Hospital, Shireen Bagh, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Prevalence of impacted teeth in adult patients: A radiographic study Dr. Mushtaq Bhat, Dr. Rizwan Hamid and Dr. Ajmal Mir Abstract Aim: To determine the prevalence of impacted teeth in relation to angulation of impaction, sex, age and medical history. Methods: A retrospective study of panoramic radiographs of 2,008 patients was carried out. The investigation was done to relate the impaction to the angulation of tooth and patient's age, sex and medical history. Patients dental records were randomly selected by computerized selection and data collected and entered into a spreadsheet (Excel 2010; Microsoft) and analyzed. Results: Panoramic radiographs of 2,008 patients aged 22 to 60 years were examined. The prevalence of teeth impaction was 17.5%. A total of 248 patients presented with at least one impacted tooth. Four hundred and two impacted teeth found. Mandibular third molars were the most commonly encountered impactions 106. The mesial angulations was the most common pattern of impaction. Prevalence was higher among those less than 40 years compared to above 40 years (p<0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of teeth impaction was 18.5% among Kuwaiti population. The teeth impaction was more commonly seen in younger population. The mandibular third molars were the most frequent impacted teeth. The most common orientation of teeth impaction was the vertical orientation. No correlation was found between teeth impaction and medical history. Keywords: Impacted teeth, radiographic study, panoramic radiographs, vertical orientation Introduction An impacted tooth is a tooth that is prevented from erupting into the dental arch by overlying gum, bone or another tooth [1] . Any permanent tooth can be impacted. Several systemic and local factors may cause tooth impaction [2, 3] . Local factors that cause tooth impaction are supernumerary teeth, dense overlying bone, prolonged deciduous tooth retention, mal-posed tooth germs, arch-length deficiency, odontogenic tumours, and cleft lip and palate. Less common, systemic factors such as Cleidocranial dysplasia, Down syndrome, febrile diseases, and endocrine deficiencies [4, 5] . Tooth impaction is a frequent phenomenon as reported in different studies [3-19] . However, there is a discrepancy in the prevalence of teeth impaction in different population and ethnic groups, as well as, variation in the prevalence and distribution of impacted teeth in different regions of the jaw. Selected age group, eruption time of teeth and radiographic criteria are some of the factors that affect the prevalence of teeth impaction [19] . The classification of impaction is described in different studies by several methods, such as level of impaction and angulation. Tooth impaction was considered if the tooth was not in functional occlusion. The angulation was assessed by measuring the angle formed between the long axis of the impacted tooth relative to the long axis of the teeth adjacent to it. Different angulations of impaction are present: mesio-angular, disto-angular, horizontal, vertical (figure 1). Several complications may result due to tooth impaction, such as, caries, periapical lesions, periodontal disease, temporomandibular joint disorder, root resorption of adjacent teeth and oral cysts and tumors [21] . A major advantage of panoramic radiograph is that it helps in evaluating the whole oral cavity and shows teeth in their normal places as well as in ectopic sites in the maxilla and mandible [22] . The aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence and pattern of teeth impaction according to angulation of impaction, age, sex, and medical history by using panoramic radiographs of patients.