Radiographic localization of supernumerary teeth in maxilla

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Localization of supernumerary teeth is essential for diagnosis and treatment planning, and several techniques have been reported in the literature. Nevertheless, vertical tube shift (VTS) and horizontal tube shift (HTS) techniques are commonly used for localization of supernumerary teeth. AIM: This study sought to evaluate the reliability of two different localization techniques (VTS and HTS) for supernumerary teeth. DESIGN: Seventy five patients were randomly selected from the records of paediatric patients at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital. Only non-syndromic patients with single supernumerary teeth, and complete clinical and radiographic (PAN, AO, PA and CBCT) records were included. Ten examiners independently rated 75 pairs of radiographs for each technique. Descriptive statistics were computed using chi-squire teat and kappa statistics was employed to assess the intra- and inter- observer reliability. RESULTS: Data from 750 pairs were available for analysis. The overall sensitivity for VTS and HTS was 73% and 72.9% respectively with slight inter- and good intra- examiner reliability. Statistically significant differences were not evident between the two techniques for localizing supernumerary teeth. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, an approximate 27% failure rate was evident for both VTS and HTS techniques.