Objectives: This was a retrospective study to determine the characteristics and distribution of supernumerary teeth in southern Chinese children.
Methods: The study population consisted of 208 children aged from 2 to 16 years.
Results: Males were more frequently affected than females in the ratio 3.1:1. Of the 283 supernumerary teeth, 95.0% were located in the premaxilla, 71.5% were conical, 70.7% were unilateral, 29.3% were bilateral, 47.7% were inverted, and 16.9% were erupted. The mean age at the time of diagnosis and removal of the supernumerary teeth was 7.3 +/- 2.7 years (the minimum age was 2.1 years) and 8.1+/- 2.7 years (the minimum age was 4.1 years), respectively. Seventy percent of the children were in the mixed dentition and 81.3% of the supernumeraries were removed under general anesthesia.
Conclusion: In accordance with previous studies, the majority of the supernumerary teeth were located in the premaxillary region, were conical shaped, and remained unerupted.