Prevalence of pulp stone (orthopantomographic-based)‎

Abstract EN

Background : pulp stones (denticles) are discrete calcified aggregates that occur most frequently in the dental pulp.

It was found in healthy, diseased and sometimes in erupted teeth.

Its number appears to increase with increasing age.

It is usually detected during radiographic examination as radiopaque masses of variable size and shape.

The aims of this study were to calculate the prevalence of pulp stones in young Iraqi adults by using digital orthopantomograph, and to report any associations between occurrences of pulp stones with, gender, tooth type.

and dental arch.

Subject, Material and Method: A total of 390 digital panoramic radiographs were collected from oral diagnosis department / College of Dentistry for Iraqi sample, University of Baghdad and Al-Karkh General Hospital.

The sample composed of 169 male and 221 female with mean age (26.9 years).

About 10510 teeth were evaluated; pulp stones scored as present or absent, number of stone and associations with, gender, tooth type and dental arch were recorded.

Result : from 390 (OPG) total of 3758 teeth were examined, 136 patients have pulp stone present in (276) teeth.

According to gender, 75 female with 143 teeth (51.8 %) and 61 male with 133 teeth (48.1), that is mean there was no significant difference of ( pulp stone occurrence) found between female and male.

Their presence were seldom found in the premolars 18 teeth (7 %) but was much higher in the molars 258 teeth (93 %) and the difference is statistically significant.

Pulp stone occurrence was significantly more common in the first molars than in the second molars and in the first premolars than in the second premolars in each dental arch.

No difference between the two arches could be identified.

Conclusion : pulp stones are not only incidental radiographic findings of the pulp tissue but may also be an indicator of some serious underlying disease.

On the other hand, they may provide useful information to predict about the susceptibility of patients for other dystrophic soft tissue calcifications such as urinary calculi and calcified atheroma's.