Sexual dimorphism of tooth agenesis patterns in non-syndromic oligodontia in Japanese patients

Hypodontia as a predictor of third molar agenesis: A comparative cross-sectional study according to sex and tooth type in a French orthodontic population

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to determine the patterns of third molar agenesis and to investigate potential relationships with the agenesis of other permanent teeth, the type of missing teeth, and sex.

METHODS

Panoramic radiographs from 4081 orthodontic patients aged 11 to 21 years were examined to identify non-syndromic tooth agenesis, including third molars. McNemar's Chi-square tests were used to compare the prevalence of third molar agenesis between jaws or sides. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore associations between the occurrence or patterns of third molar agenesis and potential explanatory factors.

RESULTS

Third molar agenesis was observed in 19.0% of the sample (19.3% for females and 18.7% for males). The most common patterns of third molar agenesis were bilateral absence of the lower third molars (16.8%) and all third molars missing (16.7%). Third molar agenesis was 3.92 (95% CI=3.07-5.00; P<0.001) times more likely to occur when other permanent teeth were congenitally missing. The congenital absence of maxillary lateral incisors was associated with the agenesis of third molars in the maxilla (OR=3.93; 95% CI=1.07-13.70; P=0.034). At least one missing mandibular third molar was involved in the patterns associated with the agenesis of other permanent teeth. No sexual dimorphism was observed.

CONCLUSION

Third molar agenesis appears to represent a continuum with the agenesis of other teeth, reflecting strong genetic control, affecting both sexes similarly.

An Orthodontic Study of Non-syndromic Oligodontia: An Examination of Occlusion and Occlusal Support

The aim of this study was to analyze orthodontic data to investigate occlusal conditions, the relationship between malocclusion and the number of congenitally missing teeth, and occlusal support of maxillomandibular teeth in patients with oligodontia. The study included 66 patients with permanent dentition from two orthodontic clinics belonging to Tokyo Dental College who had received a diagnosis of oligodontia between 2003 and 2014. The materials used for the analysis comprised intraoral photographs, panoramic radiographs, and lateral cephalometric radiographs. The antero-posterior occlusal relationships, assessed by overjet, showed a high prevalence of anterior crossbite, while the vertical occlusal relationships, evaluated by overbite, indicated a predominance of deep bite. There were no significant differences in the total number of missing teeth in the three groups divided according to degree of overjet. The same tendency was observed in the case of overbite. The number of missing teeth in the maxilla was significantly higher than that in the mandible. The high occurrence of anterior crossbite in oligodontia is believed to be related to skeletal factors, such as deficiency of the maxillary apical base and a greater number of missing teeth in the maxilla compared to in the mandible. Based on their Eichner Index scores, 98.5% of cases were classified as Class B. Among these, B2 was the most prevalent (60.6%), suggesting that patients with oligodontia have low occlusal support. The average number of Occlusal Units (OUs) was 6.4 out of 12. Nearly half of the second deciduous molars were retained in both the maxilla and the mandible. When deciduous molars were treated as premolars, there was a significant increase in number of OUs. No significant differences were observed in the actual occlusal support score, however. Therefore, oligodontia with many defects in the premolar region resulted in a low level of occlusal support, and although the survival rate of the deciduous molars was high, they were not useful in providing occlusal support.

Patterns and sexual dimorphism of non-syndromic hypodontia among a French orthodontic population

OBJECTIVES

This retrospective study aimed to estimate the prevalence of non-syndromic congenitally missing teeth (CMT) and to explore the frequency of CMT patterns in a French orthodontic population. In addition, the study sought to assess sex-based differences in CMT patterns.

DESIGN

Panoramic radiographs of 4569 orthodontic patients between 9 and 21 years-old performed over a 16-year period (2006-2022) were examined to identify non-syndromic tooth agenesis, excluding third molars. A chi-square test or a Fisher exact test were used to determine the difference in the prevalence of tooth agenesis between sex and between arches.

RESULTS

Tooth agenesis was observed in 7.3% of the sample (7.9% for females and 6.6% for males). Approximately 86% of the included subjects presented 1 or 2 missing teeth. Single tooth agenesis was significantly more frequent in females than males (p = 0.002, χ2). In total, 23 of the 67 different patterns of CMT observed, were present more than once. 75.5% of male patients and 79.5% of female patients presented one or both missing lateral incisors or second premolars, rarely affected at the same time. This study showed no sex difference in the patterns of tooth agenesis.

LIMITATIONS

This study has limitations due to its retrospective nature and our findings apply solely to an orthodontic population from a white ethnic background.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians should be aware of this particular incisor/premolar phenotype regardless of biological sex. Issues associated with congenitally missing teeth can be managed more effectively with early teenage diagnosis.

Mesiodistal angulation and developmental stages of unerupted mandibular second premolars in nonsyndromic oligodontia

INTRODUCTION

Oligodontia is a serious developmental dental anomaly that requires long-term multidisciplinary treatment, but its clinical characteristics are not well understood because it is rare. This study evaluated the mesiodistal angulation and developmental stages of unerupted mandibular second premolars (MnP2s) in orthodontic patients with nonsyndromic oligodontia.

METHODS

Thirty-seven patients with oligodontia with at least 1 unerupted MnP2 in Demirjian's developmental stages between D and G were selected. Age- and sex-matched patients without tooth agenesis, excluding third molars, were selected as the control group. Mesiodistal angulation between the long axis of the available MnP2 and the mandibular plane was measured on panoramic radiographs.

RESULTS

The MnP2 was significantly more distally angulated in the oligodontia group than in the control group. The developmental stage of the MnP2 in the oligodontia group was significantly delayed (1.04 ± 0.26 years; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-1.55 years). No correlation between the mesiodistal angulation and the developmental stage of the MnP2 was found in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant distal angulation and delayed developmental stages of MnP2s were found in patients with nonsyndromic oligodontia compared with age- and sex-matched patients without agenesis of permanent teeth, excluding third molars. However, no significant correlation was found between them. Regardless of the severity of the distal angulation of MnP2, observing delayed dental development in each patient is important.

Patterns of nonsyndromic tooth agenesis and sexual dimorphism

BACKGROUND

Sex dimorphism has been implicated in oral health differences and the pathogenesis of oral diseases, such as tooth agenesis, periodontal disease, dental caries, and tooth loss. Tooth agenesis (TA) is one of the most common developmental anomalies in humans, and its prevalence and patterns are different across ethnic groups. The aim of this study was to investigate the phenotypes and sex-associated patterns of nonsyndromic tooth agenesis (TA) in Thai dental patients.

METHODS

One thousand ninety panoramic radiographs were examined. One hundred and one subjects (37 males, 64 females, 15-20 years-old) with nonsyndromic TA were evaluated. Differences in TA prevalence between groups were analyzed using the chi-square or Fisher exact test.

RESULTS

The TA prevalence, excluding third molars, was 9.3% and more frequently found in the mandible compared with the maxilla. The maxilla demonstrated a higher prevalence of first premolar agenesis than the mandible (P = 0.012), while the mandible had a higher prevalence of second premolar agenesis than the maxilla (P = 0.031). There were significantly more males missing one tooth than females, however, there were more females missing two or more teeth than males (P = 0.042). A missing maxillary left lateral incisor was significantly more frequent in males (P = 0.019), while a missing mandibular right lateral incisor was more frequent in females (P = 0.025). In females, the pattern of two mandibular lateral incisors agenesis was the most common and significantly present in females more than males (P = 0.015). In contrast, the pattern of one mandibular left lateral incisor agenesis was only observed in males and significantly found in males more than females (P = 0.047).

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrate sex-associated differences in nonsyndromic tooth agenesis. The prevalence of single tooth agenesis was higher in males, while that of two or more teeth agenesis was higher in females. We found different patterns of lateral incisor agenesis between males and females.

Genetic and Morphological Variation in Hypodontia of Maxillary Lateral Incisors

(1) Background: Hypodontia has a multifactorial aetiology, in which genetic factors are a major component. Associated with this congenital absence, the formed teeth may show differences in size and shape, which may vary with the specific genetic variants and with the location of the missing teeth. The aims of the present study were to investigate a specific variant of MSX1, derive morphometric tooth measurements in a sample of patients with isolated maxillary lateral incisor agenesis and matched controls, and model the findings. (2) Methods: Genotyping of the MSX1 rs8670 genetic variant and morphometric measurements with a 2D image analysis method were performed for 26 hypodontia patients and 26 matched controls. (3) Results: The risk of upper lateral incisor agenesis was 6.9 times higher when the T allele was present. The morphometric parameters showed significant differences between hypodontia patients and controls and between the unilateral and bilateral agenesis cases. The most affected crown dimension in the hypodontia patients was the bucco-lingual dimension. In crown shape there was significant variation the Carabelli trait in upper first molars. (4) Conclusions: The MSX1 rs8670 variant was associated with variations in morphological outcomes. The new findings for compensatory interactions between the maxillary incisors indicate that epigenetic and environmental factors interact with this genetic variant. A single-level directional complex interactive network model incorporates the variations seen in this study.

Sexual Dimorphism in Third Molar Agenesis in Humans with and without Agenesis of Other Teeth

Sexual dimorphism in the human dentition is of interest from a developmental, evolutionary, and clinical point of view. Here, we investigated sexual dimorphism in third molar agenesis patterns and severity in non-syndromic white European individuals with (group A: 303 individuals) and without agenesis (group B: 303 individuals) of teeth other than the third molars. There was no sexual dimorphism in the patterns or the severity of third molar agenesis within groups. Both sexes showed a higher number of third molar agenesis per individual in group A than in group B. The most common third molar agenesis pattern was that of no third molars. For both females and males, bilateral third molar agenesis was approximately three times more frequent in group A than in group B (p < 0.001), whereas no difference was detected for unilateral agenesis. These findings indicate a strong genetic control of the developmental process of tooth formation, with any disruptions affecting both sexes in a similar manner. Overall, the higher vulnerability of third molar formation could be associated with the evolutionary trend in humans towards a reduced number of molar teeth, which seems to show no sex-related differences.

Maxillofacial morphological characteristics in growing orthodontic patients with non-syndromic oligodontia

OBJECTIVE

Patients with oligodontia frequently show different types of malocclusions. However, how oligodontia affects the maxillofacial growth remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the maxillofacial morphological characteristics in growing patients with oligodontia.

SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION

The study subjects included 33 Japanese children with non-syndromic oligodontia (14 boys and 19 girls; mean age: 10.2 years) who visited the orthodontic clinic of Fukuoka Dental College Medical and Dental Hospital from 1999 to 2019.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cephalometric analyses were performed, and the variables measured in each subject were converted into Z scores in relation to the mean and standard deviation of the Japanese norms matched for growth stage. The one-sample t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed to compare the mean scores in the patients with oligodontia with those of the Japanese norms.

RESULTS

Compared with the Japanese norms, patients with oligodontia showed a smaller convexity and larger A-B plane and SNB angles. The Frankfort-mandibular plane and gonial angles were smaller, whereas the height of the ramus was larger. The vertical height of the alveolar bone in the maxillary and mandibular incisors and molar areas was smaller in patients with oligodontia.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with oligodontia showed Class III skeletal tendency with mandibular prognathism and flattened mandibular plane with a smaller gonial angle. These maxillofacial morphological features can be induced by a deficiency in the vertical growth of the alveolar bone in the maxillary and mandibular molar areas due to the lack of tooth germs.

Consecutive tooth agenesis patterns in non-syndromic oligodontia

Agenesis of two or more consecutive adjacent permanent teeth (consecutive tooth agenesis, CTA) is a serious manifestation of oligodontia requiring long-term, multi-disciplinary treatment. Therefore, the present study investigated the characteristics of the CTA pattern in orthodontic patients with non-syndromic oligodontia. Using panoramic radiographs, the number of agenetic permanent teeth excluding third molars in non-syndromic orthodontic patients was evaluated, and patients with six or more agenetic teeth (oligodontia group, n = 97) and with one to five agenetic teeth (hypodontia group, n = 107) were selected. The numbers of CTA including third molars in each quadrant and in each patient were compared between the groups. Each quadrant with CTA of patients was categorized into one of the following four types: (I) involves anterior teeth only; (II) involves posterior teeth only; (IIIA) includes anterior and posterior teeth; and (IIIB) separate in the anterior and posterior teeth. CTA in at least one quadrant was found in 91.8 and 4.7% of patients in the oligodontia and hypodontia groups, respectively. The highest frequency CTA patterns included agenesis of the first and second premolars and of the second and third molars in the oligodontia and hypodontia groups, respectively. In the oligodontia group, type IIIA was significantly more frequent in the maxillary than in the mandibular quadrant. Most oligodontia patients who visit orthodontic clinics have CTA. A rare but severe CTA pattern that continues from the anterior to posterior segments is more frequent in the maxillary than in the mandibular quadrant.