Prevalence of Dental Developmental Anomalies Among Iraqi Cohorts: A Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Developmental anomalies affect oral hard and soft tissues, arising from genetic, prenatal, postnatal, environmental, and pathogenic influences. Environmental factors for dentists, updated on the epidemiology of developmental anomalies, would enhance the overall dental care provided by optimizing accurate diagnosis and personalizing the treatment. Objective: To investigate the prevalence and distribution of diverse developmental anomalies in a sample of the Iraqi population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by clinical examination of 745 systemically healthy Iraqi individuals (11-40 years) seeking dental treatment at teaching dental hospitals affiliated with Iraqi universities in Baghdad, Iraq. Results: Developmental abnormalities were found in 413(55%) of the cases, 67% of which were in males and 33% in females. Across all age groups examined, the most common developmental anomalies for both sexes were those related to the teeth. The most common dental anomaly, impaction, was found in 40% of males and 54% of females. The existence of a cusp of Carabelli (16% in males and 8% in females) was one of the other noteworthy anomalies. Anomalies relating to the bones were very rare; just 3% of males had torus mandibularis. Soft tissue anomalies were also uncommon; just 3% of females had Fordyce granules, and one male (0.4%) and one female (0.7%) had cleft lip and/or palate. Conclusions: The Iraqi population had a high prevalence of dental anomalies, among other developmental anomalies. These epidemiological findings emphasize the importance of early meticulous diagnosis of dental anomalies in patients pursuing dental treatment.