Determination of the prevalence of developmental dental anomalies in twin children

Aim: Developmental dental anomalies are characterised by defects in the number, size, shape, condition and structure of teeth. Since anomalies affect aesthetics, occlusion and oral dental health, their early diagnosis and treatment are important. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of dental anomalies in twin children and the concordance between twin pairs by retrospective evaluation of digital panoramic radiographs. Materials and methods: In our study, digital panoramic radiographs of a total of 1676 twin and non-twin children aged 7-13 years who were admitted to Süleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pedodontics Clinic between 2017 and 2023 were retrospectively evaluated. Developmental dental anomalies were recorded under the headings of number, size, condition and shape anomalies. The data obtained were analysed statistically. Results: According to the data obtained, the overall prevalence of developmental dental anomalies was 26,7%, 33,4% in the twin group and 23,3% in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between genders in patients with developmental dental anomalies. The frequency of the evaluated anomalies were as follows: Shape (19,3%), number (8,6%), condition (3,7%) and size (2,3%) anomalies. When MZ twin pairs were analysed by pairwise concordance and tetrachoric correlation, it was found to be statistically significant in terms of having hypodontia, taurodontism, impacted teeth and infraoccluded deciduous tooth anomalies. Conclusion: Our study reveals that genetic influence is more important in the formation of hypodontia, taurodontism, impacted teeth and infraoccluded deciduous tooth anomalies. Early diagnosis and treatment of dental anomalies is important to minimise possible orthodontic, functional and aesthetic problems. In addition, more studies are needed to determine the effect of genetic and environmental factors in the etiology of developmental dental anomalies.