Characteristics of Supernumerary Teeth in Nonsyndromic Population in an Urban Dental School Setting

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical records of all patients evaluated for supernumerary teeth at the University of Illinois–Chicago Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery postgraduate clinic from January 1, 2010 to October 31, 2015 to determine the demographics of impacted supernumerary teeth among different ethnicities in the city of Chicago. Materials and Methods: A retrospective case series was completed on patients eligible for inclusion in the study who had a diagnosis of at least 1 full bony impacted supernumerary tooth (D7240). Other variables evaluated included date of surgical intervention, age at time of treatment, gender, ethnicity, location and number of supernumerary teeth present, and family history of supernumerary teeth. Results: There were 459 male and 308 female patients (male-to-female ratio, 1.5:1). Patient ages ranged from 4 to 51 years (average, 13.1) at the time of surgery. Five hundred seventy-three patients (74.7%) were of Hispanic descent. Supernumerary teeth were found most frequently in the maxilla (69.9%), specifically in the central incisor region (526 teeth; 51.2%). Of the responding patient sample (258 patients), 53 patients (20.5%) reported a family history of supernumerary dentition. Of these 53 patients who reported a family history of supernumerary dentition, 37 (69.8%) were of Hispanic descent. Most of these Hispanic patients (83.8%) originated from Mexico. Conclusions: The incidence of supernumerary teeth is higher in male patients (male-to-female ratio, 1.5:1), and these teeth are most frequently found in the maxilla (69.9%), specifically the central incisor region (51.2%). A large percentage of patients (20.5%) also had first-degree relatives with a supernumerary dentition, and this fact might warrant further investigation into the possible genetics responsible for the formation of supernumerary teeth.