title: Radiographic evaluation of the prevalence of enamel pearls in a sample adult dental population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Enamel pearls are a tooth anomaly that can act as contributing factors in the development of periodontal disease. Studies that have addressed the prevalence of enamel pearls in populations were scarce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of enamel pearls in the permanent dentition of Turkish dental patients by means of panoramic radiographs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Panoramic radiographs of 6912 patients were examined for the presence of enamel pearls. All data (age, sex and systemic disease or syndrome) were obtained from the patient files and analyzed for enamel pearls. Descriptive characteristics of sexes, jaws, and dental localization were recorded. The Pearson chi-squared test was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Enamel pearls were detected in 5.1% of subjects and 0.85% of the teeth examined. Prevalence of enamel pearls was higher in males (6.58%) compared to females (3.96%). The mandibular first was the most commonly affected tooth. Enamel pearls were significantly more common in the mandibula compared with the maxilla (81.2% cf 18.8% respectively, p = 0.000). No statistically signiﬁcant differences were found between the right-side and left-side occurrences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With the prevalence of 5.1% among the Turkish population, every possible effort should be made for locating of this anomaly especially in molars because it might be useful for prevention periodontal problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Restorative Dentistry, Kirikkale University School of Dentistry, Kirikkale, Turkey. hakancolak@outlook.com.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Çolak
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Hamidi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Uzgur
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ercan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Turkal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D012737:Sex Factors; D014071:Tooth Abnormalities / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014092:Tooth Root / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult