Prevalence of taurodontism in premolars among patients at a tertiary care institution in Trinidad

OBJECTIVES

A study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of taurodontism in premolars in a group of adult dental patients in Trinidad and Tobago since there is no such data available for the region.

METHODS

Periapical and orthopantomograms of 1090 randomly selected patients were examined for the presence of an apically displaced pulp chamber without the usual constriction at the cementoenamel junction.

RESULTS

Prevalence of taurodontism in a sample of 1090 patients was 11.28%. Of the 5324 premolars examined, 4.79% were taurodonts. Prevalence of taurodontism was higher in males (6.46%) compared to females (3.66%). A Statistically significant difference (p < 0.0001) was observed in the prevalence of taurodontism in mandibular premolars compared to maxillary premolars (9.07% vs 0.56%).

CONCLUSION

Prevalence of taurodontism in premolars among Trinidadian patients, as assessed by radiographic study, was 4.79% and it was higher in the males compared to females. Significant differences were also observed between mandibular and maxillary premolars.

Facial swelling and gingival enlargement in a patient with sickle cell disease

Sickle cell anemia is a frequent hemoglobinopathy in the Caribbean. While vaso-occlusion induced tissue injury in sickle cell anemia is common in various organs, orofacial lesions are rare. A 14-year-old Afro-Trinidadian boy suffering from sickle cell anemia developed an acute facial swelling, mimicking facial cellulitis of dental origin, which was caused by sickle cell-related hemorrhage. He also exhibited gingival enlargement, considered to be an outcome of repeated hemorrhagic episodes and fibrous repair. A new finding is the presence of erythrocyte-filled intraepithelial blood vessels in the gingival epithelium. We hypothesize this phenomena is a tissue response to hypoxia that occurs in sickle cell disease.

Metastasis of breast carcinoma to mandibular gingiva

Metastatic tumours to the oral region are rare but more often involve the jaws rather than the oral soft tissues. In this report, an infiltrative ductal carcinoma of the breast that metastasised to the mandibular gingiva is presented. The patient consulted her dentist for what she thought was a dental abscess in the bicuspid region of the lower left jaw. However, her dentist referred her for a specialist opinion of the lesion. The patient's medical history revealed that she had undergone a breast 'lumpectomy' 1 year previously. A provisional diagnosis of primary or metastatic malignancy was made, and a biopsy was performed. Microscopically, the lesion showed features of a poorly differentiated infiltrative ductal carcinoma. Subsequent microscopic review of the primary lesion also showed a poorly differentiated infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast identical to the features observed in the metastatic lesion.