Prevalence of pre-eruptive intracoronal radiolucencies in Thai children and adolescents: A retrospective study.

AIM: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence, location, size, and tooth type of pre-eruptive intracoronal radiolucencies (PEIR) from panoramic radiographs in Thai patients.

METHODS: A retrospective study of PEIR was conducted on 1599 panoramic radiographs of 629 Thai males and 970 Thai females with an age range of 4-20 years (average age: 14.0 ± 4.0 years). Each radiograph was reviewed by two calibrated examiners. The age and sex of the patients, location, size, and tooth type of the lesions were recorded. The SPSS program was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: The PEIR were found in 0.32% of tooth samples (29/9060) and 1.63% of patients (26/1599). There was no statistical difference in the presence of PEIR between both sexes. The mandibular second molars were the most affected teeth. The lesions were mostly located at the central part of the crown. The lesion sizes were mostly limited to less than one-third of dentinal thickness.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that the prevalence of PEIR in Thai samples is 1.63%. This could raise dentists' awareness in reviewing unerupted teeth in panoramic radiographs. Early detection of the lesions should aid in proper treatment planning of affected teeth to prevent complications from carious invasion after tooth eruption.