Hypodontia and hyperdontia of permanent teeth in Hong Kong schoolchildren

This study was performed to determine the prevalence of hypodontia and hyperdontia of permanent teeth amongst Southern Chinese children in Hong Kong. The sample consisted of 1093 12-yr-old children on whom a panoramic radiograph was taken. The prevalence of congenitally missing teeth (third molars excluded) was 6.1% in boys, 7.7% in girls, and 6.9% for both sexes combined. On the average, each child was missing 1.5 teeth. The most commonly absent tooth was the mandibular incisor, affecting 58.7% of the children with hypodontia. Thirty children (2.7%) had supernumerary teeth, with a male:female ratio of 6.5:1; in four cases the tooth had erupted. Three children had fourth molars and one case of a supplemental premolar was recorded (all unerupted). Four cases of a maxillary supernumerary tooth and hypodontia in the mandible were seen.