Work

Prevalence of anterior tooth traits among a sample of the coastal population of South India and comparative review of prevalence among the Eurasian population

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Background The anterior tooth has various nonmetric traits, which vary between different populations. These traits serve as a valuable source of information for anthropologists and forensic odontologists, and some of these traits exhibit sexual dimorphism. Methods Dental casts of 163 patients in South Indian population, 69 males and 93 females, were scanned and digitized, and the anterior tooth traits of shoveling, double-shoveling, curvature, peg-lateral, and tuberculum dentale were observed and graded according to the scoring system by Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS). Palatogingival groove was noted as present or absent. Results The prevalence of shoveling in the mandibular central incisor was 15.9 %–18.3 % and shoveling in the maxillary central incisor was 20 %–26.9 %. Shoveling was found in 24.7 %–28.6 % in the maxillary lateral incisor. The curvature of the maxillary central incisor was seen in 24.3 %–28 %. Tuberculum dentale was seen in 38.6 %–43 %. Double shoveling of the maxillary central incisor was seen in 7.1 %–7.5 %. Peg lateral was found in 8.6 % of males and 1.1 % of females, exhibiting significant gender differences. Palatogingival groove was present in 9.7 %–11.6 %. Sexual dimorphism in relation to shoveling pattern of lateral incisor and increased prevalence of palatogingival groove on the left side was noted. Significance Apart from shoveling, other anterior nonmetric traits have not been studied widely in different populations. These traits, which show variations, and their prevalence have been recorded in this study.

Source: Translational Research in Anatomy

DOI: 10.1016/j.tria.2025.100397