The present study aimed to assess the co-occurrence of taurodontism in nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCLP) patients in a subset of Indian population using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).
The study was a retrospective case-control kinds assessing 1500 CBCT scans over a period of 2 years; 67 scans out of 1500 showed cleft lip and palate (CLP). After fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 38 subjects out of 67 comprised the case group; 80 randomly selected subjects constituted the control group. The first and second permanent molars in both the arches (8 teeth) of each subject were assessed for the presence and severity of taurodontism using the objective criteria. Statistical analysis was done using the χ2 test. Inter and intraobserver agreement was evaluated by Kappa statistics.
71.05% subjects showed taurodontism in case group, while 45% subjects showed its presence in control group; results being significant for both the groups. However, the comparison of number of teeth with taurodontism in the 2 groups came out to be statistically insignificant. Also no significant association of taurodontism was seen with gender or the different types of cleft (P = .437). Hypotaurodontism was the most prevalent type.
There was a higher prevalence of taurodontism in both groups which had been underestimated in the previous studies. This emphasizes the significance of the use of CBCT in detection of dental anomalies which would otherwise go undetected.
Keywords: CBCT; cleft lip; cleft palate; taurodontism.