Prevalence of maxillary lateral incisor agenesis and associated skeletal characteristics in an orthodontic patient population

Objectives: This study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of maxillary lateral incisor agenesis and associated skeletal characteristics in an orthodontic patient population.Materials and methods: The records of the 1066 patients seeking orthodontic treatment were screened for maxillary lateral incisor agenesis (MLIA). The following data were recorded for each subject: age; gender; unilateral or bilateral agenesis of MLI and side. The lateral cephalogram of each subject with MLIA was digitally traced. The data were compared to age-matched control orthodontic patients with skeletal Class I.Results: The prevalence of maxillary lateral incisor agenesis was 4.9% (52 patients) in which 63.5% were females. There was a significant difference between MLIA patients and controls in sagittal relationships (ANB, Wits, AB plane, angle of convexity and Co-A/Co-Gn differential analyses) p<0.05.Conclusions: Patients with maxillary lateral incisor agenesis showed a significant tendency for skeletal Class III compared with the Class I control. This could be attributed to maxillary hypoplasia/retrognathia.