Prevalence and characteristics of impacted maxillary canines in southern Chinese children and adolescents

Abstract

The incidence of impacted maxillary canines in Caucasians reportedly ranges from 1% to 3%. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence and determine the characteristics of impacted maxillary canines in southern Chinese children and adolescents. This retrospective audit involved 533 subjects with impacted maxillary canines that had been treated between February 1982 and February 2009. A customized data entry form was prepared to record and evaluate the status of impacted canines. The 533 subjects (327 females and 206 males) with impacted maxillary canines, who were identified from the population of 26039 subjects, represented a prevalence of 2.1%. Four hundred and forty-two (82.9%) of these subjects had unilaterally impacted canines, while 91 (17.1%) of them had bilateral impactions. In 442 subjects with unilateral canine impactions, 220 (49.8%) were buccally placed, 194 (43.9%) were palatally placed, and 28 (6.3%) of the canines were found to lie within the arch. The overall prevalence of impacted maxillary canines in this study of 2.1% was similar to the figures quoted for Caucasian populations. In subjects with unilateral impactions, buccally impacted canines demonstrated a slightly higher incidence (49.8%) compared to palatally impacted canines (43.9%).