Impacted teeth in a Greek malocclusion population.

AIM: To investigate the distribution and frequency of impacted teeth in a Greek malocclusion population, the localization of impacted teeth, and their possible relationships with other factors such as, gender, Angle classification, crowding, spacing and agenesias. DESIGN: Epidemiological study. SETTING: Department of Orthodontics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 1999-2000. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The material consisted of pretreatment panoramic radiographs and initial study casts of 340 patients (136 males, 204 females; age range: 12.0-40.8 years). This sample derived from a larger sample of 800 individuals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Examination of panoramic radiographs and study casts. Presence of impacted teeth, Angle classification, crowding, spacing and agenesias were recorded. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and the non-parametric Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests. RESULTS: 12.6% of the sample presented impacted teeth, whereas 67.4% presented at least one impacted tooth. The most frequently impacted teeth were maxillary canines and mandibular second premolars. Impacted teeth are more common in the maxilla than in the mandible and in Class I malocclusion. No statistically significant correlation with crowding, spacing and agenesias were found. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with malocclusion who seek orthodontic treatment exhibit a significant percentage of impacted teeth.