Epidemiological Valuation of the Frequency of Congenitally Missing Maxillary Lateral Incisors Among Schoolchildren Aged 6–14 Years in Duhok City: A Cross-Sectional Study

Section: Research Paper
Issue
Vol. 26 No. 2 (2026): Volume 26 Issue 2
Pages
399-408

Abstract

Aims: The present study aimed to analyze the frequency of congenitally missing maxillary lateral incisors and evaluate gender-related differences among children in Duhok City, Iraq.


Materials and Methods: The study was conducted by collecting 600 ortho pantomographs (OPGs) of patients aged 6–14 years from a private dental center in Duhok. Patients with prior extractions, craniofacial anomalies, or orthodontic treatment were omitted. The presence of unilateral or bilateral maxillary lateral incisor agenesis was recorded, and statistical analysis was performed via Fisher’s exact test, with significance usually at p<0.05.


Results: Total prevalence of maxillary lateral incisor agenesis was 5.67%. Female patients confirmed a significantly higher prevalence (7.74%) related to males (3.45%) (p<0.0001). Bilateral agenesis was more common than unilateral cases. Side-specific analysis illustrates slight differences: the left side is commonly affected in females and the right side in males.


Conclusion: Maxillary lateral incisor agenesis is less common, because % is 5% among children in Duhok, with a higher incidence in females. Early detection and multidisciplinary management are essential for heightening esthetic and functional results. Further studies are recommended to discover innovative genetic and environmental risk factors.

Keywords:

Agenesis, Congenital missing, Prevalence, Maxillary lateral incisors.

References

  1. Meade MJ, Dreyer CW. Tooth Agenesis: An overview of Diagnosis, Aetiology and management. Jpn Dent Sci Rev. 2023 Dec;59:209-218. doi: 10.1016/j.jdsr.2023.07.001. Epub 2023 Jul 7.
  2. Liu Y,. Yin T, He M, Fang C, Peng S. Association of Congenitally Missing Teeth with Adult Temporomandibular Disorders in the Urban Health Checkup population, BMC Oral Health. 2023;23:188. doi:10.1186/s12903-023-02855-w.
  3. Al-Ani AH, Antoun JS, Thomson WM. Merriman TR, Farella M. Hypodontia: An Update on Its Etiology, Classification,. and Clinical Management. Biomed Res Int. 2017; 2017:1–9. doi: 10.1155/2017/9378325.
  4. Felwa S AlHudaithi 1, Noor A AlDuhayan 2, Lama N AlJohani 2, Shouq N AlJohani 2, Heyam S AlQarni 2, Mayssa H AlSawadi 2,Prevalence of Dental Anomalies Among Orthodontic Patients: A Retrospective Study in Saudi Arabia,
  5. Robertsson S., Mohlin B. The Congenitally Missing Upper Lateral Incisor. A Retrospective Study of Orthodontic Space Closure versus Restorative Treatment.Eur.J. Orthod. 2000;22:697–710. doi: 10.1093/ejo/22.6.697.
  6. Sheikhi M,. Sadeghi MA, and Ghorbanizadeh S.. Prevalence of congenitally missing permanent teeth in Iran. Dent Res J (Isfahan), 2012; 9 Suppl 1:105-11.
  7. Nefeli Katanaki , Miltiadis A Makrygiannakis , Eleftherios G Kaklamanos ,The Prevalence of Congenitally Missing Permanent Teeth in a Sample of Orthodontic, and Non-Orthodontic, Caucasian Patients Affiliations Expand(2024)
  8. Modafferi C , Tucci I , Bogliardi FM , Gimondo E , Chiurazzi P , Tabolacci E , Grippaudo C (2025).Genetic Aspects of Tooth Agenesis Affiliations Expand DOI: 10.3390/genes16050582 May 15;16(5):582. doi: 10.3390/genes16050582.
  9. Shimizu, T., & Maeda, T. Developmental and Genetic Aspects of Tooth Agenesis. Journal of Oral Biosciences, (2020). 62(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.job.2020.03.001.
  10. Brook, A. H., Environmental and Epigenetic Influences on Dental Development., Archives of Oral Biology, (2022). 140, 105502.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archoralbio.2022.105502.
  11. Polder, B. J., Van’t Hof, M. A., Van der Linden, F. P., & Kuijpers-Jagtman, A. M. A Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of Dental missing of Permanent Teeth. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, (2020). 48(5), 361–369.
  12. Amini, F., Rakhshan, V. and Babaei,. P., Prevalence and Pattern of Hypodontia in the Permanent Dentition of 3374 Iranian orthodontic patients. Dent Res J. (2012); 9(3).
  13. Al-Mayali AMY, and Fahad AH, Alyessary AS, Aljafery AMA. Hypodontia Prevalence with Distribution Pattern of Orthodontic Patients in Middle Euphrates, Iraq, Ann Trop Med & Public Health, 2021; 24(S2): SP24233.
  14. Fujita Y, Hidaka A, Nishida I,. Morikawa K, Hashiguchi D, and Maki K. Developmental Anomalies of Permanent Lateral Incisors in Young Patients. J. Clin. Pediatr. Dent, 2009; 33(3), pp.211-5.
  15. Swarnalatha C, Paruchuri U,. Babu JS, Alquraishi MA, Almalaq SA, Alnasrallah FA,, and Nayyar AS. Prevalence of Congenitally Missing Upper lateral incisors in an Orthodontic Adolescent Population. J. Orthod. Sci, 2020.
  16. Ibraheem DMMH. , Hypodontia in Iraqi people. MDJ, 2018; 3 (25).
  17. Rizk H. Prevalence of Congenitally Missing Permanent Teeth in Buraidah, Qassim, KSA. Int J Adv Res Indore, 2018; 6(1), pp.1020-1024.
  18. Yaqoob O, DiBiase AT, Garvey T, and Fleming PS. Relationship between Bilateral Congenital absence of Maxillary lateral Incisors and Anterior Tooth width. AJODO, 2011; 139(3), pp.e229-e233
  19. Abdulrahman NAM, Khalifa N, Alhajj MN. Dentists’ Preferences in the Treatment of Congenitally Missing Maxillary Lateral Incisors. Brazilian Dental Science. 2019;22(2):243-51.

Authors

Halima

P.O.P Department, College of Dentistry, University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Dilan Sh. Mohammed Tahir

P.O.P Department, College of Dentistry, University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Mudhir

P.O.P Department, College of Dentistry, University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Huda Jameel

P.O.P Department, College of Dentistry, University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.33899/qt5tpc80

Download this PDF file
##submission.supplementaryFiles##
pdf

Statistics

Copyright and Licensing
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.