Prevalence of peg lateral among dental outpatients

Abstract

A peg lateral is defined as the mesiodistal width shorter than cervical width of the tooth crown which is frequently
seen in permanent maxillary lateral incisors. Peg shaped lateral incisors are considered as the reduced form of
hypodontia trait. Over many years, literature has suggested that occurrence of peg laterals is associated with the same
genetic mutation that causes agenesis of maxillary lateral incisors. Since lateral incisors being the anterior teeth pose
a major role in aesthetics of the person's smile. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence and gender distribution of
peg lateral among the patients visiting saveetha dental college and hospitals . A retrospective cross sectional study
was conducted using thes case records of patients who visited the aesthetics department in Saveetha Dental College
and hospitals from June 2019 to March 2020. The selection was done by non probability sampling. Data was collected
and then subjected to statistical analysis.2,387 patients who reported to the esthetic department for esthetic correction
of the anteriors were included in the study. Microsoft Excel 2016(Microsoft office 10) data spreadsheet was used
and later exported to the statistical package for social science for windows( version 20.0 SPSS, Chicago III USA).
The data was analysed through chi square. Out of 2,387 patients, 2.38% reported with peg laterals. Gender predilection
shows that the peg laterals were slightly more prevalent in males(1.26%) than in females(1.13%) (p>0.05) and bilateral
prevalence was most commonly present (1.51%). Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that peg lateral
is moderately prevalent among the Chennai population. The findings of the current study can be used to create
awareness among common people and dentists so that peg lateral cases can be reported at an early age and treated for
a better aesthetic look.