Impacted mandibular canines: prevalence and characteristic features in southern Chinese children and adolescents.

PURPOSE: The incidence of impacted mandibular canines in Caucasians reportedly ranges from 0.2 percent to 0.7 percent. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and to determine the characteristics of impacted mandibular canines in southern Chinese children and adolescents. METHODS: This retrospective audit involved 63 patients (32 females and 31 males) with impacted mandibular canines, who were identified from a population of 20,347 patients, representing a prevalence of 0.3 percent. A customized data entry form was prepared to record and evaluate the status of impacted canines. RESULTS: Sixty-two (98.4%) of the patients had unilaterally impacted canines (30 on the left side and 32 on the right side),while only one patient (1.6%) had bilateral impaction. Forty-four (64.5%) were buccally located, 16 (25.8%) were lingually located, and six (9.7%) were found to lie within the arch. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of impacted mandibular canines in a large group of southern Chinese children and adolescents was 0.3 percent, which is similar to several studies conducted on Caucasian populations. Buccally-impacted canines were twice as common as lingually-impacted canines.