Keywords
lateral incisors
periodontitis
prevalence
Abstract
Introduction: Palatogingival groove (PGG) is a developmental dental anomaly present as a hollow depression in the shape of a funnel, seen mostly in maxillary lateral incisors. The PGG serves as a funnel, trapping plaque difficult to clean by instrumentation and starting a localized inflammatory response in the area around it. Localized gingivitis and periodontitis with or without pulpal pathology are diseases associated with the groove. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of palatogingival grooves in dental casts of patients visiting a tertiary care centre.
Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in dental casts of patients taken for diagnostic and treatment purposes in the Department of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. A total of 204 dental casts were examined for the absence/ presence, unilateral/ bilateral distribution of the PGG. The data were entered in a Microsoft Excel sheet, and for the statistical analysis, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 was used. Descriptive statistics were presented as percentages and frequencies for categorical data.
Results: A total of 204 dental casts (408 maxillary lateral incisors) were examined in the study, among which 120 (58.82%) were of females, and 84(41.18%) were of males. Out of the 408 lateral incisors examined, the prevalence of PGG was 100 (24.50%). The groove was found to be bilateral in distribution in 20 (9.80%) patients.
Conclusion: In the present study, the prevalence of PGG among dental patients was 24.5% which was higher than shown by other studies conducted in a similar setting.
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