Prevalence and Distribution of Dental Anomalies among Arab Orthodontic Patients in Israel: Is There a Correlation to Consanguinity Marriage?

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dental anomalies and whethera significant association exists between dental anomalies and consanguinity marriage among Arabic orthodontic patients in Israel. Pretreatment panoramic radiographs of 513 patients (38% males and 62% females) were examined to detect dental anomalies related to number, size, shape, and eruption. A chi-square test was carried out to determine the associations between dental anomalies, gender, and consanguinity marriage. The results indicated that 29% of the subjects manifested at least one dental anomaly. Impacted tooth was found to be the most frequent dental anomaly, with a prevalence of 13.5%, whereas fusion and transmigration were found to be the least common, with a prevalence of 0.2% each. The prevalence of dental anomalies was significantly greater in males (p < 0.001) than in females. In our sample a significant association was found between dental anomalies and consanguinity marriage, and it was found to be greater in subjects with a family history of consanguinity marriage. This association can be attributed to the negative effects of consanguinity marriage, which was also reported in many studies in other fields. This study suggests that consanguinity marriage can be one of the factors involved in the development of dental anomalies in certain at-risk populations.