Assessment of Prevalence And Gender Predilection Of Canine Impaction In Chennai Population

Tooth impaction is a pathological situation in which a tooth cannot or will not erupt into its normal functioning position. The permanent canines are the foundation and pillar of an aesthetic smile and functional occlusion. Although most impacted teeth are asymptomatic, some can cause complications such as pain, infection cysts, tumors, resorption of the adjacent teeth, jaw fractures, malpositioning of the mandibular anterior teeth and marginal bone resorption near the adjacent teeth. Hence, it is important to see the prevalence of canine impaction in the selected population so that awareness can be created among the public to report to a dentist as early as possible. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of canine impaction in the Chennai population. A retrospective cross sectional study was conducted using thes case records of patients who visited the outpatient department in Saveetha Dental College from June 2019 to March 2020. The selection was done by non probability sampling. Data was collected and then subjected to statistical analysis. 2069 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Microsoft excel 2016(microsoft office 10) data spreadsheet was used and later exported to the statistical package for social science for windows( version 20.0 SPSS, Chicago III USA). The data was analysed through chi square. Out of 2069 patients, 5.12% reported with canine impaction. Gender predilection shows that the canine impaction was slightly more prevalent in males(2.95%) than in females(2.17%) (p<0.05) and maxillary canines being most commonly impacted (73.5%). Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that canine impaction is moderately prevalent in the Chennai population. The findings of the current study can be used to create awareness among common people and dentists so that canine impacted cases can be reported at an early age and treated without any complications.