Prevalence and Distribution of Talon Cusp in Permanent Dentition among Non-Syndromic Pakistani Population

Background: Talon cusp is a rare accessory cusp developing from cementoenamel junction (CEJ) of the anterior teeth as a vertical ridge. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and distribution of Talon cusp in Non-Syndromic Pakistani population. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted at Margalla Dental Hospital from April 2022 to September 2022. Non-probability, convenience sampling technique was used. A mouth mirror and Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) probe were used for intra-oral examination after drying teeth with the help of cotton gauze. Once identified, Talon cusp was classified and patient’s demographics and tooth characteristics were recorded. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were used for demographic and tooth related variables such as age, gender. An association of demographic variables and characteristics of anomaly was made using Chi-square test. The level of significance was kept at α at < 0.05. Results: Of 1298 participants, 653 (50.3 %) were males and 645 (49.7%) were females. The mean age of the participants was 37.57 ± 16.2 years. Most of the participants were Punjabi (1128, 86.8%). The person prevalence of Talon Cusp was 0.45% (6 patients out of 1298 had Talon cusp) with Type 3 Talon cusp most frequently found. No significant difference between genders or ethnicity and presence of Talon’s cusp was observed among study participants. Conclusion: Within limitation of this study we concluded that the prevalence of Talon cusp among Pakistani Population is 0.45%. There is an almost equal distribution among maxillary central and lateral incisors with Type 3 Talon cusp most frequently found.