Mesiodens - etiology, prevalence, diagnosis and management

Abstract

Introduction: Mesiodens is a supernumerary tooth located in the premaxilla between the two central incisors that causes a variety of dental problems such as impaired dentofacial aesthetics, malocclusion, and sometimes may lead to cyst formation. The prevalence of mesiodens ranges from 0.15 % to 1.9 %. The current literature review focuses on the etiology, prevalence, diagnosis and management of this problem.

Material and Methods: Several electronic data bases were selected. Hand searching was done to short list relevant articles. A total of 65 studies were initially retrieved out of which 53 relevant studies were selected for the review.

Results: Mesiodens is the most common type of supernumerary tooth that may cause impaired dentofacial esthetics and malocclusion. Males are more prone to be affected than the females.

Conclusions: Mesiodens is the most common reported type of supernumerary tooth occurring in permanent dentition. An in-depth evaluation of mesiodens would be helpful to develop significant clinical management of the affected patients.