A Retrospective Study of the Prevalence of Cemental Tear in a Sample of the Adult Population Applied Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Dentistry

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of cemental tears and evaluate its relation with patient gender, age and tooth type in a population of adult dental patients applied to the university hospital in the center Black Sea Region of Turkey. Materials and Methods: Periapical radiographs of 4629 permanent teeth of 1451 adult patients were examined and teeth with cemental tears were recorded. The patients' biographic data and dental history (age, gender and treatment history) from the patient database were also recorded. Possible relationships with the patient age, patient gender, tooth type, tooth region, presence of previous root canal treatment and the presence of apical periodontitis lesions were evaluated. Pearson chi-square test was used to analyze data statistically. Results: Cemental tears were detected in the periapical radiographs of 13 patients (0.89%) of the total 1451 patients. The prevalence of the cemental tears showed no significant relation with the age and gender of the patients or tooth type (p> 0.05). Maxillary teeth showed more cemental tears than the mandibular teeth did (p< 0.05) and significantly more frequent cemental tears were detected in teeth showing periapical lesions (p< 0.05). Conclusion: The presence of cemental tears is a rare entity in dental clinics. However clinicians should consider the presence of cemental tears especially in the examination and treatment planning of teeth with periodontal or periapical involvement.