Talon cusp in Malay primary teeth: expression, frequency, covariates and treatment needs

The expression and frequency of a morphological variant of maxillary anterior teeth known as the 'talon cusp' is reported in a sample of 142 Malay schoolchildren from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The trait exhibits variable and unilateral expression in the maxillary right lateral incisors of three children, yielding a frequency of 2.1%. Trait expression was graded in nature with males exhibiting larger talon cusps (Type 1, full talon; and Type 2, large semitalon) than the affected female (Type 2, small semitalon). A comprehensive analysis of the Malay primary dentition was conducted to detect possible morphometric covariation with talon cusp. Individuals with talon cusp are not significantly different from unaffected individuals in buccolingual crown size or in primary molar crown morphology. However, two of three individuals with talon cusp possess maxillary and mandibular primary canine teeth with an unusual conical crown structure. While talon cusp has previously been reported to co-occur with supernumerary teeth, including mesiodens, this is the first report of an association with cone-shaped primary canines. We address the infrequent expression of talon cusp in primary maxillary lateral incisor teeth, the presence of talon cusp in earlier and prehistoric populations, the analogous anthropological trait known as tuberculum dentale, and the treatment needs of patients with talon.